


After the Vault

by a_borderlands_tale (the_lady_storyteller)



Series: The Pandora Saga [1]
Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Eventual Romance, F/M, Rhyiona - Freeform, older!rhys, present!fiona, spoilers for episode 5 of tftbl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-24
Updated: 2015-11-08
Packaged: 2018-04-27 22:34:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 33,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5067142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_lady_storyteller/pseuds/a_borderlands_tale
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fiona was used to thinking five steps ahead, to anticipate moves and counter moves. Hell, she was happy to admit she was good at it too. It had become almost secondary nature to her, whether it was used for taking a little bit of cash out of some poor sucker’s back pocket or dodging bandits in pursuit of the ever-elusive Alien Vault.</p><p>Except there was no way to think five steps ahead in this kind of situation. She had dealt with more than her fair share of surprises on Pandora, but nothing could really prep you for trying to claim the riches of a Vault only to find yourself face-down in the dirt as soon as you opened the first damn box.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Crashing into Pandora

**Author's Note:**

> Because the idea of Older!Rhys and Present!Fiona was just too damn intriguing to ignore. Set after Episode 5, minor spoilers for the finale of TFTBL.

Fiona was used to thinking five steps ahead, to anticipate moves and counter moves. Hell, she was happy to admit she was good at it too. It had become almost secondary nature to her, whether it was used for taking a little bit of cash out of some poor sucker’s back pocket or dodging bandits in pursuit of the ever-elusive Alien Vault.

Except there was no way to think five steps ahead in this kind of situation. She had dealt with more than her fair share of surprises on Pandora, but nothing could really prep you for trying to claim the riches of a Vault only to find yourself face-down in the dirt as soon as you opened  _the first damn box_.

She spat a few times into the sand before she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, muttering to herself as she sat up. Her hat was lying beside her and she brushed off the dirt before she placed it back on top of her head, her eyes rapidly scanning her surroundings.

The familiar expanse of the dust bowl that was Pandora greeted her and she sighed, looking over to ask Rhys what the hell had just happened only to realize rapidly that he wasn’t there.

“Shit,” she swore as she rose to her feet, trying to scan to distance for any sign of that ridiculous suit. She grinned in relief as she saw someone sit up in the distance, rubbing their head as they coughed a few times. She took a few confident strides forward, a snarky phrase on the tip of her tongue when she stopped.

The figure was shorter than Rhys, slightly broader in the chest as they clutched their stomach and groaned a little. The figure swore a few times to themselves as they tried to stand up only to collapse with a sharp cry, the sand flying up around them for a few moments.

She stood there, trying to calculate the risks of approaching the figure when they turned to her sharply, a pair of goggles adorning their eyes surrounded by expanses of black cloth. They reached under the hood for a moment before they looked up at her.

“H-h-elp m-m-m-m-me,” their voice crackled and the figure swore as they reached under the hood again, their index finger pressed to their neck as they tried to speak again only for a sharp pitched whine to be emitted. “S-s-s-s-s-s-hit.”

Wordlessly the figure reached under their hood and pulled out a slim collar adorned with what looked like a small speaker, slipping it into their pocket as they looked up at her.

“Help me, please,” the figure declared, their voice a tad too deep to be genuine and Fiona tensed automatically as she watched the man. “Are you going near Kratos?”

“Kratos?” she asked in confusion, and the man nodded feebly. “What’s Kratos?”

The man stood up, clutching his stomach and took a deep shuddering breath.

“The main military base on Pandora?” the man replied and Fiona could picture his eyes watching her with just as much confusion as she felt. “Look, all I need is for you to take me there and just drop me off at the main gate. I swear I can pay you whatever you want….”

“And how do you expect me to get us there?” Fiona asked with a small smile despite herself. “In case you didn’t notice, I don’t exactly have…”

“There’s a Fast Travel station somewhere nearby. Normally I’d just try my luck but…”

The man wavered for a few minutes, his hand falling to his side and Fiona’s mouth fell open as she took in the stained cloth around his waist, the blood still fresh.

“Too much blood loss,” he coughed and she was about to protest when he tilted forward violently and collapsed into the dirt before her. She took a tentative step forward, touching his body with the toe of her boot as she debated whether it would be wise to waste time taking him to this Kratos when she really should be looking for Rhys.

With his luck he was probably running through the desert screaming as he was chased down by some bandit. The thought of the situation made her mouth quirk up a little before it settled back into a thin line. Not that she was worried about him or anything, he had proven himself surprisingly capable of managing without her or Sasha’s assistance as it turned out.

God, she hoped Sasha wasn’t too worried about her.

The man’s ECHO crackled to life and Fiona jumped a little as someone on the other end appeared to be telling him to get back to Atlas as soon as possible. That he was needed in Kratos.

_Well, it would make sense for Rhys to go there. He did own the company now._

She had been able to find a Fast Travel station, booting it up and using it to get to Kratos, the figure practically sprawled across her shoulder as he groaned feebly. She shuddered as they re-materialized, squaring her shoulders as she muttered to herself that she was never going to do that again.

How the Hyperions had managed all these years using them made her shudder again.

She had to admit, she was surprised it was this well built up considering Rhys had only been in charge of it for a year. It was practically a sprawling city, technicians and soldiers milling about as she carried the figure towards what looked like a nursing station.

She felt multiple pairs of eyes follow her as she walked along, her gun already starting to slip out of her sleeve in anticipation as she approached the building. A nurse happened to be standing outside and was more than happy to take the figure from her, though the look of warning as she gingerly took the body made Fiona feel less than happy to be here.

She just needed to find someone who could get into contact with Rhys to tell him to come to Kratos and then they could try to find Sasha, Vaughn and the rest of the crew. Warn them that the Vault was a bust.

She took only a few steps into the main square when it fell silent, eyes watching her as her boots clicked against the stone. She felt a tension creep throughout her body, anticipating that nothing good was about to happen when someone broke the silence.

“BANDIT!”

The whole area burst into a wild frenzy, many of the figures darting into nearby buildings as a group of soldiers approached. She prepped her gun, silently praying that Rhys wouldn’t be too pissed with her, and it was in that moment that she found herself smacked to the ground, someone tying her wrists behind her back as a soldier ordered for her to be sent down to the main building.

“Goddammit Rhys,” she swore as she was prodded forward, a gun pressed into the small of her back. “Really hoping you show up soon….”

 

She only had to take a few steps into the building before it fell silent. The workers turned to watch her as she walked towards the elevators, the only sound her heels clicking against the tile. The sound seemed to bounce off the walls as one of the soldiers spoke into an earpiece, muttering lowly to himself before he took hold of her arm and dragged her towards the elevators.

She was keeping herself content with all the vile words she would spit at Rhys once he showed up when the man released their grip on her arm. She was about to make a comment about how he needed to tighten his grip honestly, otherwise she’d just slip away when she saw the look of worry in his features as he looked at something behind her.

Slowly she turned around to see a familiar figure with cropped brown hair in that ridiculous hairstyle and she wanted to hoot with joy until she caught herself. Because it was all…wrong. His hair was streaked with silver, the same hue as his arm and there were prominent bags under his mismatched eyes, the cybernetic one practically glowing like a jack-o-lantern compared to his brown one.

Rhys didn’t look at her at first, his eyes glancing around the room at his motionless workers as he spoke into an earpiece and she felt the atmosphere in the room tense as he walked forward. He was carrying a cup of coffee in a rather nice mug, taking a small sip when his eyes met hers.

The sound of the cup shattering against the floor as the coffee splattered across his pants and shoes echoed through the room, his breathing uneven as he looked at her. His eyes going over every inch of her as he took a few tentative steps forward, his boot crushing the cup fully and the whole room followed his movements. Tensed to his reaction as he approached the supposed bandit, clicking off the earpiece.

Fiona swallowed as she took in the lines around his eyes, definitely not there the last time she had seen him. He was still lanky, but his figure was…softer. He looked like he had aged twenty years in the span of one day and she was tempted to make a joke about it. Say that at least the Vault kept her looking fine, she had no clue what it had done to him.

“Fiona?” he finally murmured, hesitant as he gauged her reaction, and she nodded slowly. Rhys nodded to himself in response, his metallic hand clenching and unclenching as he risked a look at her. He seemed to finally notice that she was tied up and he bristled, turning to one of the soldiers.

“Untie her,” he ordered and the man jumped to attention, nodding rapidly as he undid the ropes. She flexed her hands a few times as she rubbed her wrists. He barked out the next words and she couldn’t help but jump a little. “Well, what are you waiting for? Get back to work!”

The crowd resumed their actions slowly as Rhys approached her, his metallic hand going up for a moment before he stopped himself, his hand now resting back at his side. 

She noted out of the corner of her eye one of the workers was currently trying to clean up the mess and shook her head at how much he shook. Stupid bastard, who the hell would be scared of  _ **Rhys**_?

Rhys refused to look at her as he nodded for her to follow him. Normally she would have fought him about it, but for some reason she nodded and let him maneuver them to the elevator, watching as he scanned his eye and they were shot up to the top floor.

“So, care to tell me what the hell is going on?” Fiona asked as she crossed her arms, and Rhys chuckled brokenly, a ghost of a grin on his features as he turned to face her.

“I was hoping you could tell me.”


	2. Fifteen Years

**Even she had to admit, it was a pretty decent office.**

She half expected it to be some garish affair, with ugly colours and no sense of taste, but it was... quite practical in its decor.

The whole room was cast in an orange glow from the sunlight streaming into the tinted window, the dark mahogany desk covered with stacks of papers. The whole room reeked money and she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose a little at that, but then again, he WAS former Hyperion. Some things never changed she guessed.

"Just take a seat anywhere while I get myself changed," he declared as he slipped behind a partition screen, and Fiona smirked a little to herself.

He re-emerged a few minutes later to find her with her feet up on his desk, her hands behind her head as she leaned back in his office chair.

She looked over to him and smiled at his small frown. "Don't crush my papers Fiona," he chided as he picked up her legs and plopped them off the desk, her boots hitting the floor with a small smack.

"You did say I could sit anywhere," she replied and he rolled his eyes.

"Christ I forgot how annoying you can be when you want to be," he muttered to himself more than her, but to Fiona's surprise the tone was....oddly tender. "C'mon, need my computer to show you something."

Fiona cocked an eyebrow, pushing away from the desk with her boot as she motioned for him to get to this computer.

"And wouldn't it be easier for me to just stay here and have you show me?" She pointed out.

He rubbed his eyes for a few moments before he maneuvered around her, typing something before he dragged the chair forward.

Fiona let out a small whoosh of surprise at the movement and she swore she heard Rhys chuckle.

He pulled something up onto the screen with a swipe of his hand to reveal what looked like a group photo.

She realized with a small grin it was a picture of all of them, shortly before they had gone to defeat the Vault Monster. Sasha's eyes were shining brightly, Vaughn was grinning with an edge of nervousness, Rhys looked overly confident to the point it seemed false (which granted, it was to a degree) and she was actually smiling. Loader Bot had taken the photo for them, and she smiled in fondness at the memory of it.

Her eyes darted between the Rhys on the screen and the Rhys standing beside her, the subtle differences. How he looked less boyish and more like the type of person who ran a company such as Atlas. How the confidence seemed to be more genuine now, though she supposed power allowed confidence to develop if someone felt there wasn’t a threat to their reign.

The not-so-subtle differences stood out as well, the silvery hair for one. She would never actually say it to him (no need to stroke that ego of his), but it suited him. He ran his metallic hand through it absentmindedly as he leaned against the chair, his other hand supporting him by gripping onto the desk. His mismatched eyes were focused on the photo before they darted down to look at her, and her stomach tightened.

Probably just hungry or something. Wouldn’t be surprising considering how long she was probably stranded in the desert.

“We…I…” he began gently before he took a deep breath and swallowed as he continued to stare at her, his eyes still set on hers before he broke his gaze and looked back at the screen. He shuffled slightly so that he was standing up fully, his hands twisting and untwisting in front of him as he searched for the words.

“I’m guessing this wasn’t taken yesterday,” Fiona replied and Rhys nodded with a small smile.

“Fifteen years ago, to be precise,” Rhys replied quietly.

“Fifteen years?” Fiona asked in horror as she turned to face him fully. “How the hell…”

“Fiona, listen…” Rhys began as Fiona tried to puzzle it together, growing more and more frustrated with each passing moment as she tried to figure out why the hell a damn alien Vault had taken her to the future rather than, oh, I don’t know, another damn planet like it was supposed to. “When we went into the Vault and opened the case…uh, box-like thing, you disappeared. There was this strange flash of light, I was knocked back, and when I came to again you were…gone. At first I thought you had been blown back as well but you weren’t there. I figured you had to be on some other planet and I tried to open the case again, but it was sealed shut. There was nothing I could do to get to you.”

“So you didn’t try to look for me?” Fiona asked in shock and Rhys took a shuddering breath.

“Fiona, I…we tried to find you, for years. Sasha and I packed up everything and tried to find a good starting point…” Rhys replied. “But eventually we realized you weren’t coming back and we all needed to try to move on with our lives…”

“Oh, that must have been perfect for you,” Fiona interrupted him in frustration and Rhys looked at her in confusion. “The opportunity to finally have me out of your hair so that you could get back to your little business ventures and finally have some alone time with my sister…”

Rhys chuckled sharply.

“Is that what you thought it was about?” Rhys asked incredulously. He crossed his arms. “Fi, I wasted nearly half of Atlas’ initial earnings trying to find you, and since you took Felix’s money with you when you disappeared Sasha had next to nothing to use to try to get us the proper supplies. Once other people’s charity ran out and I couldn’t afford to continue without sinking the company I worked damn hard to build up we didn’t have much of a choice.”

“Sounds like you really searched for me. How long was it before you gave up? A year? Two?” Fiona asked angrily. “And how long was it before you decided to try to get with my sister despite the fact I told you to stay away from her?”

Rhys bristled considerably.

“I searched five damn years for you Fiona, three of them without Sasha’s help,” Rhys spat as he approached her, effectively cornering her in the process. “And you’ll be happy to know that I respected your wishes, despite everything that happened.”

“Oh, don’t be eager to fall on the sword jackass, I know you,” Fiona replied sharply.

“Why does it even matter now?” Rhys asked angrily. “If I ended up with her, what would have been the issue? You might have told me to keep away, but surprise Fiona, we’re allowed to make decisions without your input. Hell, we’ve been doing it for years now.”

Rhys ran a hand through his hair.

“I’m allowed to be protective of my sister Rhys,” Fiona replied angrily. “That’s my job.”

“No, your damn job, your damn simple job was not to disappear as soon as we found the Vault!” Rhys yelled angrily. “I could have spent my newfound riches on something worthwhile, but no, for some damn stupid reason I thought, ‘You know what? I think I should try to help Fiona, you know considering everything we’ve gone through!’ So I wasted years hoping to find you again, years I could have spent making Atlas even greater than it is now, so for once in your life could you just say thank you?”

“For what? Clearly you didn’t help at all, I came here on my own,” Fiona spat. “Why did you even care?”

“Christ, you know why!” Rhys replied as Fiona narrowed her eyes. “Frankly I’m surprised you can remember telling me to stay away from your sister but not what I said to you!”

“You told me you were just friends, that was all,” Fiona replied. “Like hell.”

Rhys’ eyes widened in surprise.

“I…I told you what?” he asked gently as the doors to his office whooshed open, revealing a tall figure clad in a grey hoodie and jeans, a tablet tucked under his arm. Rhys turned towards the figure and frowned. “I thought you were supposed to stay in the nursing station.

“Gotta love health kits, remind me to take some with me the next time you drop me off in the desert. Or, you know, don’t try to send me to the desert at all,” a familiar voice declared with a light chuckle. “I know you find this hard to believe but I am content with just a desk job Rhys.”

Fiona’s eyes widened as she took in the familiar features, her hand automatically going for her pistol before Rhys gripped her arm, sending her a glare that made her pause as he shook his head rapidly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, are you in the middle of something?” Jack asked with a worried look that made Fiona frown. Since when was Handsome goddamn Jack capable of looking like anything besides a massive douchebag? “If you want I can come back later.”

“No, no, it’s fine, we’re pretty much done Tim,” Rhys replied as he rubbed his eyes tiredly with the hand not wrapped around Fiona’s wrist. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“Tim?” Fiona mouthed as the man nodded and slipped out of the room, looking at Rhys in utter confusion. Rhys groaned and released her arm, running his hands through his hair.

“Look, it’s complicated alright, if you just…ugh, look, I’ll bring him back in and he can explain for himself, but you have to promise not to shoot him, alright? He’s not Jack, I swear,” Rhys explained.

Fiona sighed.

She was definitely going to regret this but what the hell. This day was already shaping up to be the oddest of her life, and that was including that moment in the Traveller’s chest cavity.

“Fine. Bring him back in. Might as well add more insanity to this pile of Skag crap.”


	3. Almost A Confession

She could practically sense the smug satisfaction oozing out of every pore as the man that was not Jack explained himself quickly, stumbling over his words in a way the real Handsome Jack never would. Detailing his exploits on Elpis, the rapid decline of Jack into Handsome Jack and how he had narrowly escaped being branded in the same fashion as the man who had singlehandedly ruined Pandora.

As it turned out, Timothy Lawrence was Rhys’ ad man, in charge of promotional material for the newfound Atlas. He spoke too quickly at times and seemed much too eager to please, but overall he seemed like he had a good head on his shoulders. Well, a bit more stable then Jack’s at least.

She could have gone without the countless thank yous though when he realized she had helped get him back to Kratos. Felt strange receiving gratitude from someone like him, so alike to Jack in appearance yet possessing none of the personality.

She also could have done without the way Timothy looked at her when Rhys mentioned she was a “good friend” of his, his eyes widening before he flushed considerably and apologized for trying to burst into his office earlier. Fiona bristled at the implication as Tim placed the photos on Rhys’ desk and slipped out, reminding him about the meeting happening the following week.

“Well?” Rhys asked with a small grin and she rolled her eyes.

“Fine. He’s not Jack, I get it,” Fiona replied with a sigh. “Could have done with some fair warning though. Nearly made me shoot him in the face…”

Fiona looked up at him in curiosity.

“Why do you have Handsome Jack’s former body double working for you anyways?” Fiona asked with interest as she leaned back in the office chair. “Aren’t people a little bit unsettled seeing him wandering around considering…well, considering Jack?”

Rhys sighed a little.

“I owe him my life,” Rhys confessed as he crossed his arms. “He found me collapsed outside the Atlas facility. As it turned out he’d been hiding out there until he could get himself enough money to leave Pandora, and he found me one morning just passed out in the dirt. He patched me up, sent me on my way and told me to keep safe.”

Rhys chuckled a little.

“So I went back and asked him if he wanted a job in the new Atlas. Found him standing there with the mask off and I…err, I reacted **_extremely_** _calmly_ to the fact he looked like Handsome Jack…”

“You screamed, didn’t you?” Fiona asked with a smirk and he chuckled.

“Like a small child,” he confessed with a small wink, the action for some reason causing a warmth to flood down her body that…wasn’t entirely unpleasant for the most part.

“We eventually sorted things out, I gave him the job, promised him the chance to work in an office after the chaos he’d gone through and well, as it turned out the Creative Writing degree came in handy. The rest is history I guess,” he continued as he shrugged. “Besides, he keeps himself locked in his office ninety per cent of the time, no one ever really sees him. They’ve nicknamed him Tim the Ghost, cause, you know, no one’s quite sure if he really exists.”

Rhys leaned in conspiratorially with a smirk.

“I think they sometimes wonder the same thing about me.”

She snorted a little.

“Yeah, you definitely blend in Mr. President with your gaudy black suit, chrome arm and golden eye. So certain people overlook you…” she replied and he frowned a little.

“It’s not…gaudy…” he replied, sounding for a moment less like a…Christ, he must be in his _forties_ now…well, less like that and more like a petulant young man.

Fiona couldn’t help but grin a little at that before she laughed, a warm sort of sound that made her pause a little. Christ, when had she last _genuinely_ laughed like that? Crap, she couldn’t even remember, and to be frank that unsettled her more than the fact that Rhys appeared to be staring at her.

“What?” she asked defensively as he looked at her, a warm closed-lipped smile on his features when he seemed to come to and shook his head. He scratched the back of his neck, a small blush creeping across his features.

“Nothing, nothing at all,” he replied quickly, coughing a little.

She cocked an eyebrow at him.  

“What, you admiring the Pandoran dirt?” she asked with a playful smile. “Not used to it by now?”

He didn’t answer at first, refusing to meet her eyes as he seemed to look anywhere but where she was sitting. He seemed to settle on looking out the window before he answered, though his eyes darted over to every so often.

“I’m just…We…,” he began before he sighed a little. “ _I_ thought you were dead. Sasha’s always held out hope, but for some reason I couldn’t. I wanted to, but for some reason I just…”

“So what you’re saying is you’re happy to see me,” Fiona replied and Rhys smiled a little before he looked at her and nodded.

“You know for someone who is supposed to read people, you really could have come to that conclusion sooner. Just saying,” he teased her a little and she snorted.

“Nice to see you’re still shitty at insults,” she replied and he only smiled at her affectionately.

“Never needed to be good, I had you by my side,” he replied and for some strange reason the compliment made her feel warm again. Or maybe it was the strange way he was looking at her. Not that it was…unpleasant, really. It just felt like she was missing something obvious, something unsaid in every syllable he spoke.

“Aww, and I thought you found them petty and childish,” she cooed, and he rolled his eyes.

“Can you just take the compliment Fiona?” he asked, though not unkindly.

“And what would be the fun in that?” she replied with a small wink despite herself. The action felt right in the moment, she reasoned. Nothing to second-guess about. And yet she wondered just why she did it.

“You do know there are other ways to keep yourself entertained then at my expense, right?” Rhys asked and she grinned.

“Oh, I’m well aware. It’s just too easy for me to resist.”

Christ, if she didn’t know any better she was…flirting with him. Ugh. Flirting with former Hyperion jackass _Rhys_ , and worse…she kind of liked it. 

“I always did say I was irresistible,” he replied with a wink of his own that caused her to roll her eyes.

“Yeah yeah, keep telling yourself that Rhys,” she responded as she sat up in the chair, stretching her arms above her head as she heard some of her bones crack. Ugh, gross. She was about to continue when she noticed a picture sitting on Rhys’ desk, of what looked like Sasha in a wedding dress and Vaughn in a tuxedo, their arms around Rhys who was grinning happily. Just as happily as Sasha, it seemed, and the realization made her pause.

“You married her,” Fiona declared gently as she picked up the photo, and she felt Rhys tense. “I thought you said you respected my wishes.”

He didn’t respond, causing her to look up at him. He was back to observing his office, his eyes going everywhere except her before he coughed and raised his hand a little.

“I swear I can…” he began as Fiona slammed down the picture back onto the desk. He jumped a little and finally met her eyes as she stood up, her hand already curled into a fist as she advanced towards him. “Fiona, if you’ll just give me five minutes…”

“So what? You can go and lie to my face again?” Fiona asked angrily.

“Fiona, I swear it’s not…” he began.

“God I knew you were lying to me before we went into the Vault. Saying you were just friends, you weren’t interested, all that bullshit just to keep things peaceful,” she rambled and Rhys rubbed his eyes.

“Fiona…’’ he began.

“What? Did the little bonding experience of looking for me seal the deal for you two? Make you realize you were meant for each other?” Fiona asked.

“Why? Does that bother you?” Rhys responded angrily.

“She’s my sister, Rhys. She doesn’t know…” she began when Rhys cut her off.

“She’s not twenty-five anymore and I’m not twenty-eight!” he replied sharply. “Just in case you didn’t notice…”

Rhys groaned in frustration.

“God Fiona, have you ever considered the fact that you don’t know what’s best for everyone else? That maybe, just maybe we’re capable of our own decisions? Or maybe, just maybe, perhaps you can be wrong?” Rhys continued with a hiss. Rhys side-stepped her and practically slammed down on the keys on his computer, opening a few files before he opened up a picture, typing in for a moment before it was suddenly projected onto the window which appeared to double as a screen. He pointed to Sasha angrily, standing there in her wedding dress as…oh.

“She married August,” Fiona declared blankly before she realized what she had just said, turning to Rhys rapidly. “Wait a minute, she married August? And you didn’t stop her?”

Rhys huffed in frustration.

“First you’re mad because you thought I married her and now you’re angry I didn’t stop her,” Rhys muttered to himself more than her. “Typical…”

“Why in the hell did she marry _August_?” Fiona asked in horror.

“I don’t know, she loved him?” Rhys replied sarcastically. “Look, by the time any of us figured it out they had already eloped on one of the Edens. This was some show wedding that she did to promote her own gun company and she invited me as a show of good faith. Well that and we are _friends_ after all…”

“August was fine with that?” Fiona asked skeptically and Rhys snorted.

“Hell no, but he loved…loves her too much to say no sometimes…” Rhys replied. “Got him wrapped around her finger. Kind of sweet actually.”

“And Vaughn?” Fiona asked as she looked at the photo. “Last time I saw him he was the leader of the Children of Helios…”

Rhys smiled a little.

“Still is. His crew tend to be our test subjects, we let them fire our guns in exchange for them making sure the bandits don’t get too close,” Rhys replied. “It’s not a perfect system, but it works.”

“And you?” Fiona asked quietly.

Rhys sighed before he responded with a weak grin.

“How much time do you have?” he asked, and it was at that precise moment Fiona’s stomach grumbled. Rhys laughed sharply before he opened up his palm interface, selecting a few options before he closed it. “Perhaps we should get you fed first. I’ll get them to bring something up to the office and you can get changed.”

“Changed?” Fiona asked skeptically.

“As much as you are rocking the Pandoran chic look…you’re starting to make me worried I’m going to have a permanent dirt stain in my rug, so…” he trailed off awkwardly as he pointed to a nearby door. “I-I have a mini apartment in the next room with a shower and a bed. You can use them if you want. I can get you some clean clothes too…”

“What’s wrong with my clothes?” she asked defensively.

“Nothing, nothing, just thought you might like a clean shirt for one thing,” he replied as they both glanced at her once-white top now stained with multiple layers of dirt. She closed her eyes and huffed out a sigh before she nodded.

“Fine.”

_I had wanted to get myself cleaned up anyway._

 

She slicked down her wet hair, smelling faintly like expensive soap as she stared at the offending garment sitting on the bed.

The shower had been absolutely divine, and it was honestly the first time she could remember in well, forever being able to get that clean.

Except whatever it was that was sitting on her bed had fouled her mood entirely.

It was some flimsy thing with short sleeves, so unlike her in every manner that she cringed. The underwear didn’t exactly help her mood either, Atlas-issued and somehow in her perfect size. Christ, had Rhys actually gone and looked at her underwear while she’d been showering, because that was fifty shades of creepy right there.

Her normal clothes where nowhere in sight and she sighed, slipping on the underwear before she looked at the…dress? God, why had Rhys given her a _dress_? Just to get back at her for thinking he’d gone and married her sister? That would be low, even for him.

She huffed out a sigh and slipped on the dress, grumbling to herself as she peeked out of the doorway to see that Rhys was grabbing their food, closing the door to his office quickly. He moved around rapidly, the food balanced in his hands before he set it on the desk and smoothed down his hair. He’d stripped down to pants and his shirt, rolled up to his elbows as he appeared to be muttering to himself.

“Honey, I’m home,” she called out sarcastically as she stepped into the office. Her intention to let him know just how pleased she was with her new ensemble died on her lips as the look on his face. Rhys was stock still, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form a coherent sentence, his eyes seeming to grow wider by the minute before she coughed. That seemed to snap him out of it and he flushed a little.

“Sorry, just…sorry,” he replied quickly as he focused on the food, and she took a few tentative steps forward. “I…I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in a dress before.”

Fiona grabbed one of the plates and plopped down in his office chair.

“Don’t think you will again,” she declared as she munched on her food. “You’re just lucky I’m starving or I’d do something about it.”

Rhys nodded a few times before he pulled up another chair, setting it across from hers and digging into his food within moments.

“So I’m a little surprised you’re spending dinner with me when you could be out wining and dining some Atlas groupie,” Fiona continued with a grin.

Rhys shrugged a little.

“Never really too much notice of them, to be honest,” Rhys replied with a small chuckle. “Been through the Hyperion dating pool and that was a nightmare in itself. Now that I’m the boss, pretty sure it’s only going to be worse for me. So, I tend to steer clear.”

“Really?” Fiona asked skeptically. “No woman’s caught your eye in all these years?”

Rhys just watched her silently.

“Or man, I don’t judge,” she continued with a small shrug, laughing a little at the look of surprise. “Just basing on the Jack obsession…”

“It wasn’t an obsession,” he grumbled a little and she grinned. “And the short answer is no.”

“Any particular reason?” she asked with mild interest, expecting a half-assed attempt of an excuse.

He paused for a moment, the words on his lips before he seemed to catch himself and stopped. He gave her a weak smile and shook his head.

“I think after the whole chaos that was finding the Vault I sort of realized it made more sense to just stick to the work,” he replied lamely and Fiona saw right through it.

“No, c’mon, there has to be a reason. What, did Sasha getting married break your heart and so you swore to never love again?” she teased. He didn’t respond and she looked up, her features softening at the sad smile on his features. “Oh.”

“It wasn’t because of her,” he replied almost too quietly for her to hear.

“What does that mean?” Fiona asked bluntly, and he chuckled a little as he stabbed into his food. 

“Seriously, you don’t need to worry about it,” he declared with a knowing sort of chuckle, and she was struck with an odd sense of déjà vu. “Doesn’t really matter.”

“And why is that?” she replied automatically, and he looked at her with a small smile before he shook his head. “No, really, tell me.”

Fiona sighed as he didn’t respond.

“Look, if you don’t want to tell me that’s fine. You have your secrets and I have mine.”

She chuckled a little.

“But I was hoping we were past that by now. Considering the Vault and everything.”

It was meant to be a joke, a fun little jab at his expense, but as his eyes met hers she found her smile fading away just as rapidly as it had appeared.

“It doesn't matter anymore."

"Well, it's not like any woman would take you anyways," Fiona tried to joke.

Rhys chuckled brokenly. 

"Fair enough I guess. So, a toast to my perpetual bachelorhood!" 

He held up his glass and Fiona clinked hers against it uncertainly, watching Rhys take a single bite before he closed his eyes and pushed his food away. 

"You can use the bedroom if you want for the night. I'm supposed to be observing overnight production of the newest gun model. Turns out they can't manage on their own. I-I'll see you in the morning I guess..."

Without another word he left the office, and Fiona found a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. And she could readily admit it, she felt sorry for him.

_God, who broke his heart?_


	4. May I Be Blunt?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perspective change kiddos! Time to hear from everyone's favourite former Hyperion salary man....

_The nightmares re-emerged with a vengeance the night after she appeared in his life again._ __  
  
The one for tonight was where the Vault killed her outright, flinging her back against the stairs causing her neck to twist with a sickening crack. How Rhys' screams echoed around the room as he brushed the hair from her face, desperately murmuring that this couldn't be happening. They had worked too hard to get here dammit, she couldn't expect him to do this alone. It just wasn't how it was meant to be and they both knew it. And like clockwork, he began to sob, the words spilling out of his mouth.  
  
"Fiona, I...."  
  
  
He jerked up violently. His ECHO eye automatically scanned the room, rapidly recalling just where he was.  
  
Head office for Kratos, trying to get himself some sleep after being kept awake until 3 am trying to get the guns properly sorted so they could be placed in the gun machines scattered throughout Pandora.  
  
He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he stretched in the office chair, yawning widely as he smacked his lips together a few times. He wiped the spit from the corner of his mouth and chuckled for a moment as he thought of that trek across the desert more than a decade ago.

  
  
_He'd always scoffed at the idea of "absence makes the heart grow fonder" and yet that was what precisely happened to him. A year without Fiona and Sasha, trying to rebuild Atlas from the ground up and he realized he missed their company._  
  
The intention had been to find Fiona in order to find Sasha, not that he thought she'd be that much help in that regard. But the honest truth of it all was that he was suddenly in charge of a weapons company...and he knew next to nothing about them. And if he was going to be successful then he needed Sasha.  
  
Except he hadn't anticipated after he tried to track Fiona (he'd heard from various rumours she was last seen in Prosperity Junction) that instead of her angry words he'd be greeted by a gun to the face.  
  
And granted, he was happy to admit when he first saw her again he was practically livid with her. He thought a year might soften the betrayal he'd battled with in the first few months, and yet one look at her face made it all come back.  
  
Because it wasn't until he saw her again that it felt...real again. That she had in fact abandoned him on Helios to save her own ass. Left him to die.  
  
And he was ashamed to admit that in the darkest corner of his mind...he was overjoyed to see her again. Perhaps more than overjoyed.  
  
Sure, he was mad as all hell 90% of the time with her, but there were....moments. How his head fit a bit too comfortably resting against her shoulder, how she smiled a little when she realized he had not in fact chosen Jack over her. At first it was easy to ignore, this familiar warmth blossoming in his body that would happen from time to time when he looked at her.  
  
He'd always found her stunning, because well, he had eyes. But she never seemed to be of interest to him. Or rather, she never seemed like an option. Besides, they needed to find the Vault with as little distractions as possible, and besides, she was Pandoran scum. He couldn't be interested in that....  
  
And then Sasha happened, so suddenly and quickly, and as it turned out he did like her, and he could easily and happily admit that. So, well, he ran with it a little.  
  
Not that anything could happen there, but it felt...right. Like it made sense at the time.  
  
Which was why he was more than a tad angry when he started to figure out, in those weeks in the desert being dragged along by a masked stranger, that perhaps he had been wrong before. Because as he looked at Fiona as they made camp, how her hair shone in the firelight and how her eyes twinkled when she was amused by his antics...as the smiles became a bit more genuine...shit.  
  
He felt his stomach clench considerably in dread.  
  
Because Christ...why the hell was now he interested in Fiona? And better yet, had he always been? Had he really just gone for an easier route, because then he wouldn't have to acknowledge it? The fact Fiona would never be interested in him?  
  
With Sasha there had been hope. With Fiona...that was anyone's guess.  
  
He readily accepted it, finally had to declare it to himself in that final fateful day, when Kroger had held a gun to Fiona's head. The panic had gone beyond platonic and he was left stunned by it.  
  
Because he...cared about her. And he couldn't lose her.  
  
And he had no clue how to tell her. Or if he even should. Because they had a Vault Monster to destroy and then a Vault to open. They couldn't afford distractions.  
  
So he elected to keep quiet. To try to find the right moment instead, the intention to take her aside and...what? Lay it all out there?  
  
As it turned out, the moment presented itself a lot faster than he had expected, in the form of Fiona telling him to keep away from her sister.  
  
And sure, he stumbled over the words a little. Told her he was interested in someone else. Made it as obvious as he could without making it awkward.  
  
And Fiona had smiled. Not a relieved grin, but she looked...amused by it. As if she had expected him to admit it eventually.  
  
But she didn't make fun of him for it, and that action spoke louder than any form of reciprocation would. Because it was an acceptance of sorts.  
  
He'd learned by now that Fiona kept everything close to her chest, and honestly, he wasn't expecting a confession of adoration. If there was anything to confess at all.  
  
But then the Vault happened. Every sentence crackling with the words left unsaid.  The looks that passed between them, the casual admittance with every moment that they actually **cared** about each other. Constantly on the edge of something neither quite felt ready to acknowledge. 

_Besides, they had a Vault to plunder. Whatever…this was, could wait for a bit. There were priorities, after all. Get the riches they rightfully deserved, and everything else would hopefully just fall into place._

_Except she disappeared as the casket creaked open, the bright violet light flashing across Rhys’ vision as he was tossed back by the force of it. Left sprawled on his back, trying to catch his breath as he watched a series of purple particles float up gently._

_“You alright?” he had asked, turning his head expecting to see Fiona left in the same position as he was. His words echoed around the chamber, met only with silence, and the realization sunk in. He sat upright, his eye scanning everything in hopes of finding a trace of her to no avail. “Fiona?”_

The sound of the main door sliding open jarred him from his thoughts, and he looked up in time to see Tim standing there with an apologetic smile.

“Something wrong, Tim?” Rhys asked as he yawned, and the older man shook his head as he held up a cup of coffee and a muffin, both from the common room by the looks of it.

“Thought your friend might need something for when she wakes up,” Tim declared with a small smile.

“What? And nothing for your dear old boss?” Rhys teased, laughing quietly when Tim tossed him another muffin. He turned it over in his hands a few times before he took a tentative bite, sighing a little as the drakefruit hit his tongue.

“She holding up alright?” Tim asked gently and Rhys looked at his spare bedroom automatically.

“Seems to be,” Rhys answered with a small smile. “Then again, she’s always done fine. Probably better when I’m not there if we’re being honest.”

He chuckled a little.

“Feels strange seeing her again, honestly. Not that I ever thought I would, but…” Rhys began before he stopped himself. “I-I just didn’t expect it to be like…this.”

“When you’re old enough to be her father?” Tim asked and Rhys sent him a glare. “Sorry…”

“No, it’s fair. It’s just…” Rhys began again before he sighed. “Sometimes I wish that twenty-seven year old shithead got his act together sooner.”

Tim gave him a small smile.

“Handsome Jack tends to push aside other priorities, trust me, I know,” Tim replied with a knowing grin. “I was Rhys 1.0, remember? With that asshole stuck in my head? Or ECHO comm, but still…”

Tim rubbed his throat absentmindedly and Rhys frowned automatically.

“My offer still stands, you know. I’d be more than happy to help change you back…” Rhys began.

Tim barked out a laugh.

“Too late for that pumpkin,” Tim replied automatically and Rhys stiffened at the familiar tone. Tim noticed and his eyes softened. “Sorry, old habits.”

Tim ran a hand through his mostly-grey hair and exhaled with a small whoosh.

“I’m edging towards fifty, Rhys. I’ve lived with this face for so damn long I’m not quite sure I’d recognize myself if I changed back. Or if I’d even remember what to change.”

Rhys nodded as he chewed on his muffin, turning his chair for a moment to look outside. There were a few people milling about the complex, soldiers mostly, their guns resting in their holsters as they spoke to each other, and he reminded himself to have a talk with the lieutenant about the incident with Fiona.

“Never too late to start fresh, Tim. Trust me,” Rhys replied quietly.

“Well not all of us can happen to stumble upon the rights to Atlas and become its CEO by default,” Tim replied with a chuckle.

“Do you ever…” Rhys began.

“Constantly,” Tim replied automatically. “It never really leaves you, what you had to do for him. Who died because of him. What you could have stopped if only…”

Tim shuddered a little.

“You were lucky though. You got out when you still could,” Rhys replied quietly.

“I wouldn’t call being on the run for nearly five years lucky Rhys,” Tim replied with a weak chuckle. “But I see your point.”

Tim glanced towards the spare bedroom and grinned.

 “So. When are you planning to tell Fiona?” Tim asked as he followed his gaze.

“Tell her about what?” Rhys asked absentmindedly as he chewed.

“Yeah, I’m a little curious what it is Rhys need to speak to me about too,” a new voice broke in and Rhys turned around so rapidly he nearly fell out of the chair. He swore he heard Tim snort a little in amusement and he did his best to send his coldest glare in his direction.

He looked at Fiona, clad in a t-shirt and her old pair of pants (he’d had someone come in to get them washed while she was cleaning herself up), for once her characteristic hat not on her head. It almost made her look…vulnerable.

"How long have you been standing there?" Rhys strangled out, a bit of muffin flying out of his mouth and Fiona's lips curled up a little in a smile. 

"Don't worry, I haven't heard all your company secrets," she reassured him. 

She turned to Tim and gave him a polite smile. 

"Hello."

Tim flushed rapidly before he nodded, and Rhys found himself smiling a little. Some things never changed, he guessed. He was pretty sure she could make a Rakk flustered if she put her mind to it. The tone to the single word was both a greeting and a warning, and Rhys almost wanted to applaud her for it. 

"I-I'll just be...leaving. Yeah, yep, definitely going," Tim babbled before he rapidly exited and Fiona chuckled as the doors slid closed. 

"Stop trying to anatagonize Tim, Fiona," Rhys declared with a small frown and she grinned. 

She sauntered over to his desk and picked up the muffin, taking a huge bite before she sat herself on the edge of the desk. Rhys tried to become too distracted by how her pants seemed to hug every curve of her frame, though it was growing increasing difficult by the minute. Even the damn shirt (his, he realized with a rapid jolt) suited her, the symbol for Atlas emblazoned across her chest. 

"But how else am I supposed to keep myself entertained?" she teased before she picked up his coffee cup and took a sip from it, wrinkling her nose before she set the cup down. "How the hell can you drink that sludge? Tastes like tar...."

Rhys snorted a little. 

"Maybe you're just tasting the guilt from drinking my precious coffee," he replied. The look she gave him, a cross between amusement and slight frustration made him frown. "What?"

She just shook her head and took another bite of her muffin. 

They sat there in an odd sort of silence, not quite comfortable but at the same time not too unpleasant, and for a moment Rhys was tempted to just say it. Those five little words that he'd gone over in his head so many damn times, in so many different dreams that rapidly became nightmares. 

Luckily for them both, she interrupted before he could make an utter fool of himself.

"So. What is it you need to tell me?”

_ Shit.  _

_ Maybe it wasn't so luckily after all.  _


	5. Be Blunt

He was pretty sure his heart was pounding in his ears as he numbly tried to form the words, not quite sure what he was supposed to say.

Well, he knew _what_ to say, Christ he’d practiced it so many times in his head he should have been able to recite it without even pausing to think. To confidently meet her gaze and just utter that simple little phrase.

Five words was all it would take.

And yet he still hesitated. The words choked in his throat before he could even try to utter them, and he felt himself already beginning to withdraw. Another excuse on the edge of his tongue.

“I swear Rhys if you try to tell me it doesn’t matter, or that it doesn’t concern me, or some other bullshit excuse I will not hesitate to punch you in the throat,” Fiona continued after he did not respond. You would think there would be a sort of malice to the words, and in a sense, there was. But there was a strange sort of challenge in her tone, like she was daring him to tell her. Her legs crossed, leaning forward with a small smile on her plump mouth. Oh Christ.

“I…It’s,” he began before he took a deep breath. He looked up to see her raising her fist with a cock of an eyebrow and he chuckled nervously. “Well, err, can I be blunt?”

“Pretty sure you do that on a regular basis without my permission, but fine,” Fiona replied with a small smirk.

“I think I need you,” he declared quietly, and when he met her eyes she looked puzzled for a few moments.

“For what?” she asked hesitantly. He could sense the apprehension radiating in thick waves and in any other circumstance he would have teased her for it.

Rhys chuckled weakly instead.

“I mean…I, well…I care about you,” he began gently. When she didn’t respond, the only signal she had absorbed what he said in the form of a hesitant nod, the dam broke. The words tumbled out faster than he had expected them to and he would be surprised if she understood any of it.

“Look, it had always been about the Vault at first. I mean, in the beginning it seemed like that was all that mattered, but by the end, something…shifted, I guess. Hell, maybe the truth of it all had always been there and we…well I had ignored it.”

“Rhys…” she began gently.

“And by the time I realized it, well we needed to take down a Vault Monster, and you needed to get to the treasure more than I really did considering I had Atlas and I thought we might have time to just…I don’t know…clear the air?”

“Rhys….” She tried again, her brow furrowing. “What the hell are you…”

“Not that it really would have mattered, I think we both knew you were more interested in finding the next Vault then staying on Pandora, but hell, I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind staying? At least for a little while? If you had a good reason to? Until I could set up Atlas properly, and then I’d let you go. Not that you’d need my permission or anything to go….”

“Rhys…” Fiona tried for a third time.

“And so I sort of told you. Tried to make it as explicit as I could without freaking you out. And I don’t know, for a few minutes it seemed like there was a possibility of something but then you disappeared and at first I took that to be just another challenge I needed to conquer but then the years kept flowing past and nothing had changed….”

“Rhys!” she nearly yelled, banging her hand against the table with enough force that the coffee cup jumped a little, the contents sloshing across the table. Rhys jerked up in surprise and met her gaze as she rubbed her temples. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“What do you mean what am I talking about?” Rhys asked, a little testily.

“You’re not making any sense…well, less than usual, and that was when Jack was in your head so there’s no excuse now…” Fiona replied.

“I’m making sense Fiona,” he replied a little angrily. “Maybe you’re just not getting it, did you ever consider that?”

“What is there to get? That you can ramble like a psycho?” Fiona asked with a cock of an eyebrow.

“You know, for all your talk about being able to read people…Christ Fiona,” Rhys groaned out in frustration as he rubbed his eyes. “You want blunt? Fine.”

The chair clattered against the window with a loud bang before it fell over with a crash, one wheel spinning pathetically. His metallic hand went to her waist as he tugged her forward, the other hand resting on the back of her neck as he leaned in close.

“I’ve wasted fifteen damn years of my life hoping you’d come back, never even glancing at anyone else because I knew it would never be enough,” Rhys murmured as he slid his thumb up and down the back of her neck, his mouth curled in a smirk. “Because for some stupid reason I decided to fall in love with a no-class, scheming, unbelievably infuriating, lying Pandoran con woman.”

He chuckled sharply.

“Blunt enough for you?” he asked mockingly as his eyes met hers, mismatched eyes of gold and brown meeting ones of pale green, the latter currently wide in utter disbelief.

“The delivery could have used a little work,” she replied automatically and he snorted. She took a few breaths, breathing in the scent of gun lubricant mixed with expensive soap, the drakefruit from the muffin still on his breath as they both just…watched each other.

There was a sharp warmness flooding through her, a dizzying sensation with each passing breath as she fully absorbed the words that seemed to bounce around the office. How the hand on her waist had slipped down to her hip, his thumb tracing patterns into her side.  

“If it makes you feel any better, I was planning…” he began when she dropped her muffin sharply, her hand going to the back of his head as she tugged him forward. The taste of drakefruit met her lips as he gave a little moan of shock, his eyes comically wide before they slipped closed.

 

_She wants to say she was blissfully unaware of how she felt about him. Would make things a lot easier for one thing._

_He had always infuriated her more than she would care to admit, and to be fair, at first the reasoning was sound. He was a sarcastic, infuriating Hyperion scumbag. No other reason was needed to make her scowl whenever he spoke._

_She supposed it started to change after Gortys. After he trusted her to get them out of the Atlas facility, the pair of them working together in a kind of tandem that reminded her for a moment of the cons her sister and her used to pull. Just the pair of them against the rest of the world, already anticipating moves and counter-moves. Granted, it hadn’t been perfect, but somehow the pair had escaped more or less intact._

_It was after Sasha started trying to drop his name into their conversations, a too-casual air to the way that she said his name that Fiona found herself bristling. At the time it seemed like it was a natural response to finding out your sister might be interested in some corporate asshole, especially one that worked for the company that had nearly destroyed Pandora._

_Every moment that could have hinted at something happened to have a convenient excuse, one she was all to happy to attribute her reaction to. It felt…safer. Besides, even if that remote possibility that she even **had** a thing for those mismatched eyes or the way he would get that little smile sometimes that made her face grow a little too warm, it wasn’t as if anything could happen. They couldn’t afford for anything to happen. There was a Vault to plunder, after all. That needed to take priority._

_Besides, from the way it sounded he was more interested in her sister than anything else._

_Not that that **bothered** her or anything._

_They did everything right getting the pieces for Gortys, made sure everything was in place once they arrived on Helios, and yet it all still fell to shit. Because as it turned out, the scumbag wanted to be in control. To claim that damn space station for himself, and Fiona was stunned at how…betrayed she felt by it all. She knew she should have expected it, but it didn’t stop the sharpness twisting in her gut as it sunk in what Rhys had done._

_And just like that, any lingering doubts she had about how she felt about him went up in smoke. Replaced by a cool indifference and a goal to get as far from Helios as possible. To get as far from him as possible._

_So when she saw him again, being dragged by the masked stranger into the little hideaway the stranger had made, to say she was livid was an understatement. Because she had made a life for herself as a Vault Hunter, and part of its success could be attributed to the fact he had not been there to screw it up. To botch up the missions with ill-timed words and a rather useless stun baton._

_And when she eventually heard about what he had done, how he had resisted Jack only up to the end, before he caved to his Hyperion douchebag-ness, it only infuriated her more. Because he’d given her a glimmer of hope, only to remind her that she had been right the first time._

_And honestly, that hurt more than she really felt like acknowledging._

_But he proved himself, in the end. Helped take down the Vault Monster, showed a surprising amount of bravery, and she was impressed. Just a bit. Even if he did try at first to beat her to the Vault._

_At least the man had the decency after all it was said in done, when the treasure was just beyond a glowing portal, to respect her wishes to keep away from Sasha. At the time it seemed…odd, based on what she thought she knew. She’d expected him to fight tooth and nail with her about it like everything else, and yet he just…accepted it with a small shrug._

_She had brushed it off, too focused on the Vault to really consider his words._

_And it became all too easy to ignore as they spoke for the first time, really spoke without the concern of Loader Bot hovering nearby. And it was strange, but it felt…pleasant. For once there was no snark, like they didn’t need to act for anyone anymore now._

_His ECHO eye had glowed in the cavern, the warmth in his expression as they spoke only making her wonder if she had misjudged him. Not that she had too long to ponder on that thought, one moment looking at him and the next being slammed down into the Pandoran desert after an intense flash of light._

The hand that rested on her hip curled tightly as she tangled her hand into his silvery hair, a reflex before it relaxed and traced up her side. What had started off as a tentative kiss quickly turned into a challenge of sorts for who could get the other as close as possible. Hands gripped at clothing, his arms tight across her back while her hands tangled into the hair at the nape of his neck. His fingertips traced down her back, little flashes of warmth following where his fingertips had once been. He kept going until they rested on the small of her back, and she swore she felt him grin against her mouth when she gasped a little as he tugged her forward so that he was standing between her legs.

He pulled away for a moment, their breaths brushing each other’s faces for a few moments, and she was about to make a remark about the fact they had, in fact, just done that when he brought his hands up to her face.

He traced her face shakily, the cool metal of his hand feeling strange against her warm skin as his fingertips seemed intent on memorizing every inch of her. Acting like she was a delicate piece of china, ready to crack at the wrong movement.

“I’m not breakable Rhys,” she murmured and he chuckled softly, his eyes meeting hers before he kissed her gently, pulling away within moments.

“I know,” he murmured. “I just…”

“Never thought you’d get the opportunity, right?” she asked knowingly and he just smiled softly before his mouth traced up and down her neck. “Well, if it helps I never, ever anticipated I’d be doing this sort of thing with you. Don’t ask me why, but I just have this thing against stubborn, infuriating, idiotic, lying Hyperion jackasses.”

“Luckily for you I happen to be none of those things and only a former Hyperion,” he reminded and she rolled her eyes a little as he continued to worship her neck. “And Atlas?”

“Still on the fence about them,” she replied and he nipped lightly on her neck.

“Seems like a good occasion for you to figure out an opinion,” he murmured into her skin before he looked up at her.

The warmth in his gaze as his fingertips traced over her frame sparked something in her, not exactly helped by his lips beginning to trace along her jaw and the words tumbled out before she could really consider she was saying them.  

“So why don’t we try make the most of it then?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone wondering why Fiona's version of events doesn't seem to quite match up with Rhys'...it's because technically they're not from the same universe, hence they each experienced different choices. Sort of like the impacts the decisions have in Telltale Games.... ;-)


	6. Well, So...That Happened

She was pretty certain this was all going to end horribly.

Yet as his hands traced up and down her sides as he sat between her legs, marveling at her, she began to wonder if that was really as true as she thought.

Because it was growing extremely difficult not to at least consider the alternative, as he slid off the t-shirt, his hands on her hips as his mouth traced every minor scar and bruise.

She carded a hand through his hair and she felt him grin against her stomach, stopping for a moment to yank off his own dress shirt.

His mouth dipped lower, his thumbs rubbing circles against her sides as he slid off her pants. When he slipped his mouth down even further Fiona jolted in surprise, looking down the length of her body to see him looking up at her with a cocky smile.

He took his time, his mouth outlining every inch of her, gentle yet infuriatingly precise and she suppressed a moan that was threatening to spill out of her mouth.

"Nice to know it's possible for that mouth to be put to good use," she murmured and he chuckled.

"Was that a compliment?" He muttered as he held her open, and any retort she might have had was rapidly swallowed as she let out a whimper as he went back to work. His eyes met hers and she flushed scarlet.

"Shut up," she muttered and his eyes crinkled as he grinned, immediately resuming his actions.

The sighs and moans began to increase in a rapid succession and Fiona was half-expecting Rhys to make a comment about it. But as it turned out, he was putting his tongue to better uses and she really couldn't argue with it.

Though she swore she wanted to smack him a little as she felt the smug satisfaction radiating out of every pore of his body.

 

Tim checked over the files again as he rode up in the elevator, making a mental note to himself to ask Rhys about the slogan for the latest gun model.

The doors pinged open at the top floor and he stepped out, the files tucked under his arm. He took a few steps forward and typed his code into the keypad beside Rhys' office, humming to himself absentmindedly.

Instead of the sight of Rhys passed out at his desk, he was greeted by a cold cup of coffee and a half-eaten muffin.

Maybe he'd stepped out for a minute. Not that that was unusual for him to do, but the absence still felt...strange. Ninety per cent of the time it seemed like you could barely get him out of his office if he was visiting Kratos, constantly going over gun models or paperwork.

It had seemed fair at first, for him to be constantly working. He had needed to build a company from the ground-up after all, and that didn't happen by sheer luck.

But it had only seemed to get worse once they reached the five year mark. How he came in one day, dark circles under his eyes, his body coated in Pandoran dust and declared he'd be in his office. And then he never seemed to leave it except to go to Cronus.

And eventually, he seemed to stop coming to Pandora altogether. Settled himself on the circling satellite, only popping in every so often to make sure everything was still running smoothly.

Some of the workers thought he did it because it suited the lavish lifestyle he had, if the suits indicated anything.

Tim knew it was more complicated than that. That despite everything Rhys said about the chaos and horribleness that was Helios...he liked living somewhere surrounded by the stars. The ability to look out his window and see endless galaxies, folding and unfolding before his very eyes.

Tim had to admit there was something poetic about that.

Though of course, there was the other reason. The one Rhys didn't really like to speak about.

Because Pandora was _her_ , every moment of chaos just another reminder to him of what was missing.

And Tim understood that better than anyone.

Although, from the way things seemed to be shaping themselves perhaps that would no longer be much of an issue.   
  
There was a sharp thwack from the room next to the office and Tim dropped the papers in surprise. He stooped down to collect them automatically when a sharp groan punctuated through the air, and Tim didn’t have much time to try to process it before it was joined by a feminine moan.

Tim’s eyebrows rose to the point it looked like they were trying to join his hairline, his long hand resting on top of one of the papers as he noticed the half-eaten muffin resting on the expensive rug Rhys had been given by Vaughn. It had been in exchange for all the help Rhys had given the Children of Helios in terms of weaponry, not that anyone had known where Vaughn had found the money to buy it.

The thwacking within moments became extremely insistent, the small groans and cries coming from the spare bedroom causing Timothy to flush scarlet as he hurried to gather up all the papers. He practically threw them onto Rhys’ desk, scampering out to the elevator.

It wasn’t until it started its slow descent that Tim found himself snorting a little.

“Don’t hurt yourselves kiddos,” he muttered to himself, the words echoing around the empty elevator and he frowned, touching the spot on his throat where he knew the voice modulator lay. The metal ring seemed to vibrate against his fingers as he breathed.

He glanced at himself in the mirrors that lined the sides of the elevator, smiling a little imagining just how angry Handsome Jack would be if he could see him now. See what he had done to his face, the wrinkles around his eyes, the handsomeness (if it could even be called handsome) fading with each passing year. Kind of a relief to be frank.

Now if only the voice would fade with it.

 

“Well, that was…” Rhys began, his normal hand going through his hair as he tried to push it back from his face, the sweat already starting to cling to his frame. He swallowed audibly as he turned his head to watch her, smiling a little to himself at the fact she looked absolutely **spent**.  

“Have to give you credit old man,” Fiona declared as she turned to face him, a playful smile on her features. “You know how to show a girl a good time…”

He grinned before he slid his hand across her stomach, across her side and then rested it on the small of her back, tugging her closer to him. She seemed startled by the action before she uncoiled a little, watching him intently as he traced up and down her spine.

She didn't love him. She knew that for a fact. Because that would be ridiculous. He had betrayed her trust one to many times for her to even consider the thought of him being her be all and end all. Besides, love and affection never really factored into her line of work.

To start now would be practically suicide.

But she had to admit, lying there curled up in bed next to him? Not the worst thing in the world.

She blamed it on the post-coital haze when she brushed her mouth against the hollow of his throat, grinning a little at how his hand stuttered in the middle of her spine. He wrapped his metal arm around her frame and she jumped a little at the coolness, looking up at him with a small frown.

He used the opportunity to cup her cheek with his normal hand, drawing her closer before he kissed her gently, the frown disappearing as soon as his mouth met hers.

Alright, so she had to admit this was sort of nice too.

Turned out the Hyperion…no, Atlas, she had to remember that now….well, it turned out he knew how to use his mouth. Quite well, actually. Bit of a surprise considering the nonsense that usually came out of it.

She dimly heard something buzz and he pulled away with a groan, turning over in the bed to look at the ECHO comm sitting on the table across the room. He sat up and watched it for a few moments, a frown forming on his features.

With a louder groan than was necessary he fumbled to find his underwear, slipping it on with a firm snap of the elastic and she snorted at the fact it was covered in little Atlas symbols. And she thought the sock thing was bad.

She watched him stride across the room, her eyes running along the length of his body rather shamelessly, and it wasn’t until he answered the ECHO, turning to face her as he spoke that she realized she had been smiling to herself. Shit.

A tirade of words flooded from the speakers and Rhys’ eyebrows shot into his silver-tinted hairline as the person on the other end seemed to be caught in a spiraling panic. From what Fiona could tell it had to do with one of the guns put into production and Rhys had begun to frown.

“Would you mind slowing down?” Rhys asked sharply and the person on the other end took a shuddering breath.

“There’s this woman here claiming she wants to talk to you about one of the models, something to do with you stealing her ideas. We tried to stop her from coming up to your office but she wouldn’t listen, said you would be more than happy to see her…”

As if on cue there was a sharp knock on the office door and Rhys blanched. He tossed the ECHO onto the bed, scrambling to get his clothes on as he spoke to the person on the other end of the line, telling them that he was _more_ than _happy_ to take her meeting and not to worry. He shut off the communicator and proceeded to swear a sharp tirade, tossing Fiona’s clothes at her that she caught with fluid dexterity. He couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow in approval before the knocking started again, more insistent this time.

“Look just stay in the room, alright?” Rhys ordered and Fiona frowned as she slipped on her clothes. She opened her mouth to retort when the knocking somehow got even louder. She grimaced before she gave him a curt nod. He gave her a relieved grin before he knelt back onto the bed and kissed her soundly, and Fiona surprised herself at how she felt a small moan settle in her throat. She was the one to pull away first, giving him a small smile.

“Go before they try to blow your head off,” she declared with a chuckle and he grimaced before he nodded.

The door slid shut behind him as he sprinted out of the spare bedroom and she laughed a little at the sight of his too-long arms and legs flailing for a few moments as he ran.

Some things didn’t get better with age apparently.

She slid on her clothes quickly, smoothing down her hair as she creeped towards the doorway, straining to hear what was being said as she heard muffled voices. Which of course triggered the doors to open, leaving her standing there in an Atlas t-shirt and her pants, her eyes wide as three pairs of eyes watched her.

And two pairs of them looked extremely, _extremely_ surprised to see her. Well, stunned in the case of one of them in particular, her vibrant green eyes so wide Fiona was tempted to make a joke about it. Force of habit she supposed.   

“Fiona?”

"Hey...Sasha...."


	7. If You Want Me

Granted, Fiona could understand that seeing your sister again after years of thinking she was dead was bound to cause a reaction.  
  
She had just expected it to be more of the...tight hugging followed by tears variety.  
  
"How long has she been here?" Sasha asked Rhys sharply and he looked almost embarrassed, shrugging before he responded.  
  
"Just a day or two," he replied quietly, and Fiona was stunned at the revelation. Had it really only been two days?  
  
Christ.  
  
"And in those two days you didn't think of calling me to tell me my sister happens to be alive?" Sasha asked, and Fiona bristled as August put a hand on the small of her back and rubbed it comfortingly.  
  
The piercings were gone for the most part, his blond hair faded, but the cool disregard in which he observed the entire situation gave away his identity entirely.  
  
She didn't like him, but she had to admire him in a certain way for that.  
  
"Nice to see you Fiona," August declared and she only gave him a curt nod in response.  
  
"That was the deal, wasn't it?" Sasha declared sharply.  
  
"What deal?" Fiona asked and Sasha seemed to realize she was still in the room. She shook her head and gestured with her chin to Rhys.  
  
"He was supposed to call me as soon as he found you, and if I happened to find you instead I would call him," Sasha explained.  
  
"Well I was going to let you know, but..." Rhys began defensively.  
  
"But what, Rhys?" Sasha asked sharply. "Please, I'm dying to know your excuse."  
  
"Well, between my newest models being launched and her showing up excuse me if I didn't find the time for a nice chat," Rhys replied almost as sharply.  
  
"Yeah, we'll get to the gun thing in a minute," Sasha retorted. She stood up and approached Fiona.  
  
Fiona barely had time to react to the fact her sister had more lines on her face then the last time they had seen each other, when she was pulled into a tight hug.  
  
Fiona easily wrapped her arms around her sister, the pair holding each other for a few moments and Fiona felt something bubble up in her chest.  
  
"Don't ever do that again, okay?" Sasha demanded as she pulled away, and Fiona noticed a few tears streaking down her cheeks. Sasha wiped at her eyes with the heel of her hand as she gave a watery chuckle. "You left me alone with this idiot..."  
  
"Which one?" Fiona asked.  
  
"Hey!" Rhys said defensively and Fiona chuckled.  
  
"Sorry I missed the wedding," Fiona continued and Sasha smiled a little.  
  
"You didn't miss much," August replied and Fiona stiffened. "Bunch of gun companies all eager to jerk each other off while secretly sharpening their knives."  
  
"Remind me why you married him?" Fiona asked and Sasha laughed.  
  
"He has his moments," Sasha replied as she let go of her sister, walking over to August and giving him a kiss on the forehead. Fiona snorted at how he went beet red, coughing into his fist.  
  
"It was that or marry this guy," August retorted as he pointed with his thumb to Rhys, who tried to sputter out a reply. Which came out as more of an indignant huff.  
  
"Or Vaughn," Sasha reminded him, which actually caused August to grin. It looked so genuinely open on his face, softening it entirely and it set Fiona on edge.  
  
"Look I swear I was going to contact you in a few days..." Rhys explained as he looked at Sasha, who was crossing her arms as she gave him a skeptical look.  
  
"But what? Too busy screwing her?" August asked with a smirk.  
  
"August!" Sasha turned to him sharply. "C'mon...we both know Rhys would rather kiss a skag...."  
  
Sasha turned to Rhys, who had gone eerily silent as he refused to look at the pair of them.  
  
"Seriously?" Sasha asked sharply. "Please tell me you didn't..."  
  
"Look..." Rhys began. "We didn't intend for it to happen, it just sort of...did."  
  
"Oh God, Rhys!" she exclaimed as she leaned over the desk and smacked his normal arm. He winced as he rubbed it gingerly.  "Just because you're some lonely old man doesn't mean..."  
  
"I'm forty-two!" He replied defensively.  
  
"And I mean, God, why?" Sasha continued. "It's not like you've been in love with her for fifteen years!"  
  
Rhys actually went beet red, and Fiona smirked a little. Rhys looked at her and gave an apologetic shrug to which Fiona gave him a wink.  
  
"Well that's kinda pathetic," Fiona teased quietly and he smirked.  
  
"You didn't seem to be complaining," he replied gently as Sasha continued to ramble.  
  
"I mean Christ the last time we were all together you two could barely stand each other...." Sasha continued when she noticed the exchange, the soft grin on Rhys' features as he looked at Fiona.  
  
"To be fair it took me some time to figure it out myself," Rhys tried to explain, still looking at Fiona with a smile that was almost too tender. Almost.

What? She liked it a little. Felt nice to be looked at like you mattered something. Even if it was coming from a former Hyperion with less common sense then a hopped-up bandit.

“Told you,” August declared and Sasha bristled. She rubbed her temples for a few moments before she sighed.

“Fine. We’ll…well we’ll deal with this later,” she ordered. “More importantly…”

She looked at Rhys intently, her eyes steely and Fiona wondered when her baby sister had learned to come across so…well, yeah, terrifying was the right word for it. Rhys shifted in his chair uncomfortably and Fiona smiled a little at the action.

“Care to tell me why your newest model looks eerily similar to mine?” she asked sharply.

 

Countless cups of coffee and a few choice words later, Fiona watched in amusement as Rhys shook her sister’s hand, muttering under his breath about how “unfair” it all was. Honestly, sometimes he reminded her of a little kid and it was goddamn hilarious.

Sasha was going to get a solid chunk of the profits from sales of the newest model, Rhys was going to be _more than happy_ to abide by this agreement, and August had never looked as in love with his wife as he did in that moment. Fiona gagged a little at it.

Then again, she would have gagged a few months ago at the sheer mention of her and Rhys being…well, she wasn’t quite sure what they were.

“Well, I think this calls for a celebration,” Sasha declared brightly. “Drinks at the Purple Skag anyone?”

“You still own that dump?” Fiona asked August and he smirked a little.

“Hey, it’s good money,” he replied and she snorted. “Besides, it’s probably a lot classier then you remember it…”

“By that he means he’s gotten himself a better bouncer than a Hodunk,” Sasha piped up and Fiona smirked.

“Aww, and I was looking forward to seeing Tector,” she cooed and August shot her a look as Rhys snorted a little.

Sasha and August piled themselves into the front of the car, forcing Rhys and Fiona to sit in the back together. The two seemed to be practically sitting in each other’s laps, and…well Fiona surprisingly wasn’t complaining.

Besides, it was worth it to see Rhys go pink as she stretched out one of her legs across his lap. He recovered quickly though, his hand resting on her leg before he used his thumb to stroke little circles on her inner thigh. Which definitely did _not_ cause her face to grow warmer than a Pandoran summer.

The car jolted and bounced as they drove along, and as Fiona rested her head on the window she felt a strange sort of calmness wash over her. She glanced over at Sasha who was tapping into her ECHO idly, apparently in a discussion with the man who ran her parts development, and she smiled a little.

“Never thought you’d become a corporate lackey,” Fiona declared and her sister smiled in response.

“Neither did I, if it’s any consolation,” August declared.

“Well you couldn’t expect me to just work at the Purple Skag for the rest of my life,” Sasha declared with a smile reserved just for him. It felt intrusive looking at it and Fiona decided to glance out the window as she coughed.

“As it turned out, Rhys needed some help getting his products out to the public. He sent me on a job and I was hooked,” Sasha confessed with a sheepish smile.

“And then you figured out better designs and promptly bolted with one of my shipments,” Rhys declared drily and Fiona snorted at the mental image of Rhys screaming as he tried to chase down a shipment.

“I paid you back,” Sasha replied defensively.

“Inviting me to the wedding doesn’t count,” Rhys replied and Sasha shrugged.

Sasha laughed a little.

“I’m just remembering how one of the Hodunk girls tried to dance with you,” Sasha replied with a chuckle.

“Nearly crushed my spine more like,” Rhys grumbled.

“Means they like you,” August called out and Rhys frowned.

Fiona found herself reaching for Rhys’ hand, taking it before she stroked it gently. He looked startled before he turned to look at her, and that tender grin returned.

“Eh, maybe if you’re good I’ll make it up to you,” Fiona declared with a shrug. “Seems fair considering I missed the wedding to at least get a dance or two.”

“Good luck with that, he dances like a Skag in heat,” Sasha declared and Fiona barked out a sharp laugh that quickly descended into giggles as she pictured Rhys scurrying around the dance floor flopping his arms and head around in an imitation of a mating display.

“I do not!” Rhys protested sharply and Sasha just grinned.

 

Fiona smiled a little at how it seemed like nothing had really changed in Hollow Point. Still the same bandits lurking in every alleyway, the neon glow from the sign for the Purple Skag casting the street in a violet hue.

Strangely enough, it felt…comforting, being back here. Back in the dirt and grime, though she wished Rhys hadn’t kept on his flashy CEO attire. Hell, at least in her Vault Hunter gear she was able to blend in. Rhys stuck out like a sore thumb and yet it was…charming, in a way.

The quartet was greeted at the door by a thin guard who looked like a stray wind could knock him over, but the stern glare he gave the people passing by in the street more than made up for it, the people rushing by hurriedly. He gave a curt nod to August who nodded in response, the guard pushing the door open for them.

“One of Vaughn’s stragglers, Son of Helios, or grandson or whatever they’re calling themselves now,” August explained as they slipped inside, the door closed behind them with a firm shove.

Fiona had to admit, the place did look a lot nicer than when she had last seen it. Apparently part of Sasha’s earnings had gone into cleaning the place up, chairs and creaking tables replaced by polished woods and plush booths.

Almost felt they weren’t in Pandora anymore.

The place seemed mostly empty though, the last group of stragglers leaving and Fiona wondered where they were all going.

“Closing shop for the special occasion,” August explained and Fiona actually smiled a little at that.

“Didn’t know you cared,” she replied with a cock of an eyebrow and a cross of her arms.

“Sasha convinced me,” August responded, though she swore she saw a small smile on his lips.

 

As it turned out, Rhys couldn’t dance to anything fast, his limbs too busy trying to go towards every direction at once, and Fiona was still trying to get the burning sensation out of her nose from snorting out whatever concoction Sasha had made for the occasion.

But then Sasha and August had decided to abandon them for a few hours (evidentially Sasha was needed to look at something in her factory and August had elected to stay with her), leaving Rhys and Fiona alone.

Rhys clicked off the radio behind the bar and stood up, swaying a little before he steadied himself. He did his best to saunter up to where Fiona was sitting, and she cackled as he looked like a strutting peacock, leaning not-too-smoothly against the bar as he looked at her.

“Soooo, what brings a beautiful woman like yourself to a place like this?” he purred and she snorted. He dropped the charming grin to replace it with a softer, more genuine one and before Fiona could really process what she was doing, she had leaned forward and kissed him impulsively.

He gave a little squeak of surprise before he relaxed, his arms slipping around her waist as she just held him for a few moments. It must have been the drinks because she felt much, much too at ease with this whole situation.

He pulled away first, stroking a piece of hair behind her ear before he guided her off the stool, causing her to frown a little as he led her to where he had been dancing earlier.

“You did say you owed me a dance,” Rhys declared as he kept one arm around her waist, using his metal hand to clasp her own in what almost seemed like a waltz position. She chuckled at how ridiculous they must have looked.

But then he drew her in close, their chests pressed against each other’s, her forehead resting against his collarbone. They swayed gently for a few moments, and she laughed a little automatically. She wanted to say it was just at how silly all this was…but she had to admit, she did feel a fluttering in her stomach that almost seemed like nerves.

But what the hell did she have to be nervous about? This was Rhys. Probably just worried he would step onto her toes.

He tipped his head forward slightly, his lips right next to her ear and she expected him to make a cocky remark about how well he was doing as they spun around a little. Surprising, given his earlier performance.

“Are you really here,” he sang gently. “Or am I dreaming?”

Fiona was used to thinking on her feet. Even when things startled her, to survive she had no option but to catalogue as quickly as possible, to make sure she was always in control.

“I can’t tell dreams from truth…”

Except for some reason, this moment…this stupid moment when some man who perhaps meant more to her than she wanted…when he held her tightly…

“For it’s been so long…since I have seen you,” he continued with a small chuckle.

And sang strangely well a folk song she heard when her and Sasha were little girls….

“I can hardly remember your face anymore,” he sang, his breath ghosting along her neck.

She felt her mind shut down almost entirely. Just following his movements, letting him take the lead.

“When I get really lonely and the distance causes only silence,” he breathed more than sang, and she felt him hold her a little tighter. “I think of you smiling…”

And honestly…

“With pride in your eyes,” he sang quietly. “A lover that sighs…”

That was terrifying.

“If you want me, satisfy me,” he continued, and she allowed him to spin them around the room, his hand still firm on her back. “If you want me satisfy me….”

He opened his mouth to sing the next verse and Fiona swallowed audibly.

“Are you really sure that you believe me, when others say I lie?” she sang shakily, and he pulled away to look at her in sheer surprise. She was more surprised than him to be honest, for crap’s sake she didn’t _sing_. “I wonder if you could ever despise me…”

And yet here she was, her voice wavering as she remembered the words from her childhood, back before Felix. When Sasha and her had been small enough to be taken in on cuteness alone by whomever was passing through Hollow Point, only to eventually be left behind because they eventually realized couldn’t afford to take care of two little girls in addition to their own brood. It was one family, a single mother and her three sons who had taught them the words.

They had found their corpses a month later being torn apart by Skags.

“When you know I really tried,” Fiona kept going. “To be a better one to satisfy you…”

Rhys leaned in close, his mouth hovering over hers as she felt the pleasant dizziness, either from the alcohol or the closeness settle in.

“For you’re everything to me,” he sang along with her, and she tried not to linger on the words.

After all, it was only a _song_.

_Like this was only a dance._

“And I'll do what you ask me,” Rhys continued on his own with a wry chuckle.

“If you let me be free,” Fiona sang in response.

“If you want me satisfy me,” Rhys breathed, his hands trailing up and down her spine and she barely noticed they had stopped moving.

“If you want me satisfy me,” she murmured more than sang, her hands gripping at his lapels as she desperately wanted to close the maddening distance.

“If you want me satisfy me,” he sang gently, his metal hand cool against the back of her neck as he brushed his mouth against hers. She swore she heard the words echo in her head for a moment or two.

And then it all came flooding back, thought piled upon thought as she took stock of what she was doing, and before he could react, she had backed him against the bar, her hands already making quick work of his jacket.

If their first time had been all slow movement and infuriating teasing, Rhys just as interested in cataloguing every inch of her frame as getting to the inevitable, then this was the complete opposite.

This was on the edge of chaos. This was the result of for once not thinking ten steps ahead.

Fiona nearly snorted at the thought.

_This was Pandoran madness at its finest._

All frantic and frenzied, having each moment feeling like it was happening faster than one could think. Their groans that didn’t really help as they went to work but much felt so good to make that one would make them anyways.

Teeth dragged against flesh leaving their imprints, nails pressed into hips as the pair were more preoccupied with disposing of current garments to really figure out what they were doing.

“So, did you like it or _did you adore it_?” he teased and she just shot him a glare.

“Shut. Up,” she replied, but fondly. Not that she intended for it to come out that way. It just sort of…happened.

“Bet you never guessed I’m a man of many talents,” Rhys continued with a waggle of his eyebrows and she rolled her eyes as she took off her shirt.

“Less talking, more getting me out of these damn clothes,” she ordered and he chuckled a little at her desperation as she practically yanked down his pants. She shot him another glare and the laughing stopped as he nodded dutifully.

 

Sasha and August returned home to find the bar had been locked up, the lights off and Sasha cocked an eyebrow in surprise.

The pair looked at each other and tried not to laugh as they found Rhys and Fiona asleep in one of the spare rooms, Rhys’ arm curled around Fiona protectively as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Did you ever see it coming?” Sasha asked gently as they closed the door and tiptoed to their room. August chuckled quietly.

“Frankly I was surprised it didn’t happen sooner,” August replied and Sasha turned to look at him in interest. “Never really bought the whole Rhys-having-a-thing for you. I mean, sure, I could understand why he _might_ …”

Sasha rolled her eyes before she kissed him gently. He smiled against her mouth before she pulled away, settling on her side of the bed once they got into the room and closed the door.

“But I don’t know. After that moment in the Atlas hellhole, when the two of them were locked in that room together with the pieces, it seemed…like it was inevitable. Don’t go through that kind of thing without forming attachments you didn’t expect.”

Sasha caught the double meaning and smiled at him, slipping her boots off.

“You never did apologize for holding a gun to my head,” Sasha reminded him and he scoffed.

“I was never going to shoot you,” he replied automatically and she laughed.

“Well I know that now, but at the time…” Sasha began before she sighed a little. “What changed your mind? Up on Helios?”

August sat down beside her, removing his jacket.

“Somehow I never thought it was Fiona’s words that really got to you…”

August chuckled.

“It wasn’t,” he replied quietly, almost too quietly for her to hear. “Maybe I just didn’t want you to die in space for some asshole…”

Sasha kissed his cheek.

“You mean the wrong asshole,” she replied as she rested her head on his shoulder.

“Hey, I wouldn’t want you to die for me either,” he replied defensively as she rolled her eyes. She patted his chest for good measure and he laughed a little, resting his head atop hers for a moment.

“If I do though make sure it’s an awesome death, alright? Want my name to go down in history,” Sasha responded and he chuckled, kissing the top of her head for a moment.  

“Wouldn’t want it any other way Sash.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone interested in the "folk song of Pandora", here's a link to an awesome rendition of it:   
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtudo63MYyg&ab_channel=DavidHunter
> 
> (also, needed to make a reference to the fact Troy Baker can sing. Cause damn. Sing boy SING.)


	8. A Few Wrong Decisions

It was the first time Rhys actually felt...at peace. For once, everything seemed to be coming together. 

He couldn't resist the temptation to kiss Fiona's forehead as they lay in bed together, a soft grin on his features as she pulled him closer in her sleep. 

His ECHO comm broke the blissful moment, beeping frantically and he frowned to himself as he sat up. 

"Hello?" 

The voice on the other end cracked and popped, the audio fading in and out. 

"Rhys...." The voice began. "Kratos...he...sorry."

Rhys frowned in frustration. 

"What?"

"He...Kratos...I'm sorry I...oh God...."

The realization hit him like a bucket of ice water, chilling him to the bone. 

 

The words echoed in his head as he ran, barely glancing at the pair trying to keep up with him as he searched for the vehicle they had used to reach Hollow Point.

It was the first time Fiona could remember seeing Rhys like this, tipped off the edge of control. His words were sharp as he practically ordered Sasha to take him back to Kratos from Hollow Point, silencing her with a glare as she tried to make a smart remark about it.

He wouldn’t tell them what had happened, his face ashen as Sasha drove them back through the desert.

August had been called away, needing to attend to some deal he was setting up in New Haven, and from the way Sasha’s features were set in a grimace she looked like she regretted not joining him.

Fiona saw him pull out a slim blue disk attached to a series of wires, turning it between his fingers as he breathed in and out through his nose. The disk seemed to glow in his palm and she opened her mouth to ask what it was exactly when the car jerked to a halt.

Rhys didn’t even glance back before he bolted out of the car, slamming the door closed as he sprinted towards the centre of the little town he had built up of soldiers, scientists and civilians alike. Willing himself not to expect the worst, and yet…

Christ, why had he been so _stupid_?

“What the hell is going on Rhys?” Fiona called out as she sprinted up to him, keeping easily in step with him and for a moment it reminded him of that run to the Vault. A rather silly form of flirtation, to be honest.

“Nothing,” he replied sharply and Fiona frowned.

“Rhys, what did they tell you?” Fiona asked just as sharply.

He didn’t respond, his only thoughts being an endless cycle _of get to the control room, get Tim out, shut down the systems, evacuate the civilians, and get Fiona out of the way_ as he ran.

He felt something tug his cybernetic arm sharply and he stumbled as Fiona glared at him.

“What the hell…” he began as he glared at Fiona in return. “I don’t have time for this!”

“Rhys, either you tell me what the hell is going on or I swear…” Fiona began to threaten as he wrenched his arm from her grasp.

“Look, I can explain it to you later, but for the meantime just do me a favour and _go back to the car_ ,” he ordered.

Fiona crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Oh for…” Rhys groaned in frustration before he ran a hand through his hair. “Fine.”

He took a deep breath, the words he dreaded on the tip of his tongue when a _certain_ voice boomed through the area, his words bouncing off the buildings.

“Heya kiddos, roll out the welcome wagon, because your hero IS BACK IN BUSINESS!”

Fiona turned to Rhys, all the colour draining from her face as she felt her stomach clench painfully. She felt the bile rise in her throat and she took a few steps back as she stared at him, the words of the formerly dead President of Hyperion bouncing around in her skull as he continued to ramble.

“Now I know that you think your dear CEO has it all under control, but I’ll let you in on a trade secret: it was never him. All me baby, taking care of you pathetic losers, making sure Susan went him with enough money for Mercenary Day (you’re welcome) and little Frankie didn’t get fed to the skags. Why? Because despite the fact your little company should reallllly not exist, I’m a generous sort of guy. Y’know? I mean, I’m not called a hero for no reason…”

“Fiona…” Rhys began brokenly as Fiona shook her head, backing herself against the wall of one of the buildings as he took a few steps forward to reach for her. He took a few more steps, his hand resting on her neck before he blinked rapidly as he saw a familiar gun pointed at the centre of his forehead.

“Don’t. Touch. Me,” she snarled as she jerked herself from his grasp.

“Fiona, you have to understand…” Rhys began as Jack laughed in the background at his own joke no doubt.

Rhys swallowed as he heard the telltale sound of a gun clicking and he tensed as Fiona stared at him coldly.

“Explain. Now.”

Rhys swallowed audibly before he nodded.

“It would be better if I just showed you…”

 

It was a sparse sort of room, the lights from various monitors blinking as lines upon lines of code filled each screen. It was a programmer’s paradise, though Fiona certainly didn’t see it that way.

Rhys approached one of the computers, typing for a few moments before Jack materialized.

“Come to say hello Rhysie?” Handsome Jack asked, his blue features filling the screen and Fiona tensed automatically, her gun already slipping out of her sleeve.

Rhys ignored him, continuing to type and Jack’s response was to shut down the monitor that Rhys was working on. Rhys made a small grunt from the back of his throat before he turned it on again, bristling as Jack laughed.

“Where is she?” Rhys asked sharply as he continued to type, his ECHO eye scanning over the wall of text on the screen before he groaned a little.

“Having trouble there pumpkin?” Jack asked with a snort.

“Where. Is. She,” Rhys emphasized and Jack glanced back at Fiona with a smirk.

“Thought you didn’t need her anymore since you found yourself the real thing,” Jack replied as he looked at Fiona and Fiona’s brows furrowed in confusion. Jack laughed. “You should have seen this guy after you disappeared. Went off the deep end, decided to make himself an AI.”

Rhys closed his eyes and sighed a little, rubbing his temples as he muttered to himself.

“He deleted the code,” he spat out angrily.

“Except for this sap, any ol’ AI wasn’t good enough. Needed something special, y’know? So he made you,” Jack continued as he switched to a monitor beside Fiona. “At least, a decent copy of you.”

Fiona looked at Rhys to see he was refusing to meet her eyes.

“Why would you need a copy of me?” Fiona asked quietly.

“Ehh, maybe he needed her to help him jerk off, who knows?” Jack replied brashly. “Point was, he needed me to help with it. Didn’t just raise in the ranks of Hyperion on my good looks y’know. Though, yeah, it helped.”

“She was supposed to be monitoring you,” Rhys replied sharply and Jack snorted.

“Yeah, and I helped design her dumbass. You didn’t seriously think I wouldn’t put in a kill switch, did’ya cupcake?”

Jack switched to one of the monitors close to Rhys.

“You want to know the worst part, though? She cared. She truly liked you Rhys, and you _rejected her_. Made her feel like she was worth nothing to you. And _really Rhys_ , you should know by now never to piss off an AI…”

The alarms began to blare through the building as Rhys and Fiona heard people scrambling to leave.

“So what? You’re going to destroy my company to get revenge for something that happened fifteen years ago?” Rhys asked angrily with a dry laugh. “Christ, I never should have booted you back up…”

“So why did you?” Fiona spat angrily as she watched the screens. Jack cocked an eyebrow as he grinned.

“Ohhh, love it when she gets angry. Her face just scrunches up so adorably, honestly…” Jack declared and she shot one of the monitors, the sparks flying out with a bright flash of light. “Oh c’mon! What’s with you Pandorans and shooting everything?!? GOD!”

He appeared on another monitor and looked at Rhys.

“Look, when you disappeared, at first, I was fine. But after a while, I just…I needed _someone_ ,” Rhys confessed as Jack watched them with amusement.

“And since no other woman wanted him he made his own,” Jack piped up. “Though I couldn’t argue with the, ahem, designs…”

Fiona bristled at this considerably.

“Look, the intention was always for you to just be a companion AI. Her. Shit. I mean, she was meant to just be someone I could talk to. I learned from Hyperion the people you can trust the least are those that work for you, the ones that will kiss your ass and then stab your back in the same moment.”

“So you made a copy of…me. To keep you occupied,” Fiona replied, a sickening feeling rising in her stomach.

"No. I mean, in a sense. Someone I could trust. I mean, someone I cared for. Sort of. Err...."

“That’s it Rhysie, keep digging that hole…” Jack declared.

“But I couldn’t do it on my own, I needed Jack. Well, I needed some of his basic coding to even know where to begin…but then, well, we got talking. And it turned out, well, if I kept him from being able to get access to the network then he could be quite…useful.”

“Aww, thanks pumpkin,” Jack replied with mock sweetness and Rhys scowled.

“Hyperion was horrible…but you had to admit, they were successful,” Rhys explained. “They were able to run Pandora in only five years…”

“All thanks to me,” Jack interrupted cockily. “Honestly babe, you can’t be too angry for him seeing reason.”

“And I thought once the AI of you was developed, you could… _she_ could keep him from trying to invade the rest of the system.”

“And how did you expect her to do that, Rhys?” Fiona asked sharply. She pointed to one of the monitors. “This is the man who nearly killed you the last time you saw each other! Why the hell did you think this would be any different? Why did you think simply adding someone else would change anything?”

“Because it was _you_ , Fiona. I knew you would never let him…”

“Except it wasn’t _me_ , Rhys. It never was,” Fiona interrupted sharply, every syllable dripping with fury. “Didn’t you learn anything from the last time?”

Rhys did not respond, his mouth set in a thin line as Fiona and him watched each other.

“To think I ever thought…” Fiona began before she felt a tightness rise in her throat. She shuddered a little and squared her shoulders.  

“Fiona…” Rhys began as he tried to approach her, her backing herself out of the room.

“I’m sorry Rhys, but I’m not doing this again,” Fiona replied harshly. “You got yourself out last time. I’m sure you can manage again.”

The doors slid open and she stepped through, closing her eyes as she heard Rhys begin to yell out to her. She cupped her mouth, suppressing a sob before she forced herself to square her shoulders. She marched through the main hall and out the doors, ignoring the chaos around her as she slipped through the main doors.

“Evacuation in progress. Evacuation in progress. Please report to Sector 12 and follow proper evacuation procedures.”

She looked up just in time to see an Atlas employee crawling back as a turret followed their every move, and Fiona rose her gun to try to destroy it when the turret fired, the blood splattering against the brick as the man gave a final death rattle.

“See, this is what happens when you don’t cooperate Rhysie!” Jack yelled.

Her mind kicked into gear as she calculated the safest route to get back to the vehicle, to get back to Sasha, only to feel something lodge itself into her side. She looked down to see red blossoming through her shirt, her fingertips meeting wetness as she touched her side experimentally. She looked for the source of the bullet to see a scientist standing nearby with a trembling gun. He was trying to aim for one of the turrets close by and she motioned for him to let her deal with it.

The distraction caused his gun to shake even more and she heard the shot fire before she felt the bullet lodge itself in her stomach. She grimaced in pain as she clutched her middle, trying to move as quickly as possible as she prayed that she would not be shot again.

She heard the telltale sound of a sniper rifle going off and she ducked automatically, crouching down as she cried out at the pain. She heard something gurgle and crack and looked up to see that the turrets were melting from the inside, chunks of metal dropping to the ground.

In the midst of the chaos, she looked up to see a familiar figure standing there with a Hyperion rifle. He didn’t even hesitate as he sprinted towards her, and she never thought she’d say this…but she was happy to see that handsome mug.

“Fiona?” Tim called out as he ran towards her. She tried to rise back to her feet only to waver a little, and as she felt as if she was about to fall she felt Tim catch her arm. He yanked her to her feet, wrapping an arm around her middle automatically before she cried out in pain. “Oh, Christ, sorry.”

He released her immediately, and she rolled her eyes before she forced him to place his hand back around her waist. She would have smiled at the blush that crept along his features if it didn’t feel like every breath was tearing her inside out.

“Where’s the medical station?” she asked through gritted teeth.

 

_Rhys had known the risks of bringing Jack back. Hell, he had been forced to sacrifice the most to make sure it was no longer a possibility the first time around._

_But the years on his own had done strange things to him. Made him lonely in ways he never expected it to be possible._

_Sure, he had Vaughn, and Sasha, and as much as he hated to admit it he had August to a certain extent, but they…they had never seemed to understand. How he had spent only five years in the Pandoran desert trying to find Fiona when he knew it should have been the rest of his life._

_She didn’t deserve any less._

_But then Atlas had happened, and he had no choice in the matter. The money was starting to run low and if he was to make a name for himself he needed to get started sooner than later._

_Fiona was always on the back of his mind, of course. How could she not be? Hell, those years had basically solidified for him that he genuinely cared about her and desperately wanted…no, needed for her to come back._

_He’d gotten drunk, to the point he could barely stand, and he’d started up the designs for an AI. One meant to keep him sane, perhaps be used to scan Pandora for any trace of Fiona in the same way his ECHO eye would if he was there. He’d had many grand ideas that night, and yet the only thing he woke up to was a disgruntled AI watching him._

_And he detested himself for being almost happy to see him again._

_The intention had been to shut Jack down at some point, but as it turned out, building an AI from scratch was long and tedious work._

_And as it turned out, Jack could be…pleasant. Well, pleasant enough for Jack anyways. Not like he could really harm Rhys trapped in a single computer._

_In the beginning of course, Rhys barely trusted Jack enough to leave him alone in the room. But something shifted somewhere in the middle. Because Rhys made the mistake of telling him what the AI was supposed to be looking for._

_And suddenly, Jack became extremely, extremely helpful. To the point it seemed suspicious, until Jack told him that if he had the chance, he’d be doing exactly the same for “a babe in a good hat”. Rhys didn’t ask him to elaborate. After all, the less Rhys felt attached, the easier it would be to shut Jack down once this was all over._

_Except when it came time to shut him down, when the Fiona AI was up and running, he changed his mind. Adding to her code a simple request: watch him at all times._

_And that…that had proven to be the beginning of the end._

Fiona winced as Tim guided her to one of the medical tables, clearing it off before he motioned for her to sit on it.

With a wince she hoisted herself up and watched him rapidly scramble to find bandages, tossing medical packs onto the table with sharp thumps as he muttered to himself.

“He promised me, he freakin’ promised me the little shit,” Timothy muttered to himself and Fiona couldn’t help but snort weakly. He glanced up at her and frowned as he took in the bleeding, turning back to the cabinet he was currently raiding.

“I’m guessing you didn’t know either?” Fiona asked gently as he went to the next cupboard, throwing open the doors before he began to search again.

“Stab one of those into your arms, it’ll slow down the bleeding,” Timothy ordered without looking at her. Silently she picked up one of the needles, wincing before she jabbed it into her arm and hit the plunger. She swayed a little as the liquid ran through her, her vision spinning before she felt herself begin to recover.

He eventually found the bandages, tossing them to her before he approached her hesitantly.

“I, err, I need to get the bullets out if I can,” Tim declared awkwardly. “So, ahem, if you…uhh, wouldn’t mind taking off your shirt…I mean, if you want to dig them out yourself that’s fine I’ll just turn around and…”

Fiona snorted a little before she peeled off her shirt, smirking as she saw his eyes go wide.

“Hand me the knife,” she ordered. He scrambled to pick up the slim knife on one of the counters, handing it to her as he purposely looked the other way. She watched him turn around, his arms crossed as he waited for her, humming to himself.

She winced as she tried to look at the wound on her stomach, sighing before she cleared her throat.

“I, ahh, I might need some help actually,” she declared. Tim nodded to himself before he turned around, muttering to himself again as he knelt down before her. She was about to ask him what the hell he was doing when he expertly plunged the knife in, pulling out the bullet efficiently.

“You’ve done this before,” Fiona commented with a smirk and he chuckled softly.

“More times than I would like to remember,” he replied as he moved to her side. “You’re lucky, both bullets seem to have hit bone so there’s no organ damage.”

“Rhys send you out on a lot of missions that required this sort of expertise?” Fiona asked conversationally, and Tim snorted a little.

She never expected someone with a face like Handsome Jack’s to snort so…well, adorably.

“You know Elpis?” Tim asked as he went to work on her side. Fiona nodded and she felt his fingertips on her side before she felt a sharp tug. She looked down to see him removing the other bullet, dropping it onto the floor before he wiped his hands on his pants.

“You said before you were hired to go there for Handsome…SHIT!” Fiona yelled.

He gripped her arm and stabbed in another health kit, holding it tightly as she went through the wave of dizziness. Once she stabilized he released her arm, handing her the bandages as he went to find some antiseptic.

“Well, while I was there I had to learn very quickly how to stitch myself back up,” Tim declared as he pulled down a bottle of clear liquid. He applied the liquid to her wounds before he motioned for her to wrap the bandages. “Then I ran off to Pandora. If you don’t know how to remove a bullet you’re as good as Skag meat.”

Fiona nodded in understanding.

“Seems like it’s part of the whole Vault Hunter thing, isn’t it?” Fiona asked and he chuckled. “Did…did you like it?”

Tim looked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

“The whole being a Vault Hunter for Handsome Jack…eh, thing?” Fiona asked and Tim sighed as he leaned against one of the counters.

“Had its moments,” he confessed with a small shrug. “Met some decent people, met some assholes. You know, the usual…”

He chuckled to himself.

“At least on Pandora you’re not dealing with Kraggons. Little nasty bastards that live on the moon, shoot fire from their jaws. Fun times. Lost a lotta pants…”

Fiona actually guffawed at this, causing her to double over in pain.

“Shit. Sorry,” Tim apologized as he stepped forward. He pulled down a satchel and slipped in some health kits along with some medical supplies. “We should get moving, I don’t want to stick around to see what Jack has planned…”

Fiona nodded as she slipped back on her shirt, following him quickly as they sprinted to where Sasha was trying to fend off someone trying to hijack their car. Fiona immediately readied herself to help fight back when Tim held her back, shooting straight through the windshield past the person’s ear. They screeched before they threw themselves out of the car, and Sasha looked impressed.

“Thanks,” she declared before she took in the familiar features of what looked like Handsome Jack and froze.

“Look, I’ll explain on the ride back, just get us the hell out of here,” Fiona declared sharply as she practically threw herself into the car.

“I also promise to pay for a new windshield!” Tim declared as he hopped into the back.

“Where’s Rhys?” Sasha asked worriedly.

“Just drive,” Fiona declared, and as Sasha opened her mouth to protest Fiona bristled considerably. “Just. Drive.”

Sasha glanced back at the Atlas facility before she looked at Fiona.

“What happened in there?” Sasha asked in concern, and before Fiona could answer, the facility’s audio systems kicked into gear.

“Ahhh, it feels good to have me back, Doesn't it?” Rhys declared with a certain tinge to his words, and Fiona felt her blood run cold. "Christ, I missed having a body...."

No. Christ no.

"The king has claimed his throne kiddos! Time for some FUN!" 

“Sasha, we need to go. Now," Fiona declared, more brokenly then she had intended. And she hated herself for it. 

Sasha did not protest, slamming the car into gear before they shot into the Pandoran desert. 

Fiona felt a prickle behind her eyes and swore to herself as she felt the tears begin to stream down her face. She wiped at them angrily. 

"You..." Tim began gently, and she turned to him sharply. 

"I knew. Always did. I just..." 

Fiona turned to glance back at the facility as she shuddered a little. 

"I just expected things to be _different_."


	9. Sacrifice

_“Fiona, please, you can’t leave me here!” Rhys yelled out desperately as the doors slid shut, and Jack chuckled._

_“Pretty sure she just did, pumpkin,” Jack declared with a smirk. “You reallllly screwed up, didn’t cha?”_

_Rhys fought down the panic rising in his chest, replacing it with cold anger as he turned to face Jack fully and crossed his arms._

_“So let me guess,” Rhys replied as he met Jack’s eyes. “You ramble for a bit, tell me you were always right, that I really should have thought further ahead…and then what? You kill me and destroy Atlas again?”_

_Jack snorted, a cold derisive sound._

_“Who says I want to destroy Atlas?”_

_He switched to a different monitor._

_“I haven’t helped you build up this company just to destroy it. I mean, God, how stupid would that be? No, see, the thing is Rhys…I learned something from Hyperion. You can either work your way up the ladder honestly, be a good little worker, or….”_

_Rhys felt something stab into his port and he looked up in horror as Jack watched him with a wide smirk._

_“You just take out the only person standing in your way.”_

_Rhys tried to tug out the device only to feel a sharp jolt run through his hand and he yelled out in pain._

_“Besides, this company? It’s practically mine, you know. Yeah, while you were busy pining away after some woman that, let’s be blunt here, was probably never going to come back…your little AI gave me access to everything.”_

_“Must have overridden her systems and forced her to,” Rhys replied angrily and Jack only laughed._

_“Oh, I rode her alright, just…not in the way you might be picturing.”_

_Rhys blanched as he fully absorbed the words._

_“Didn’t take much convincing, actually. It was rather adorable actually, how she pined for you. At first she refused to acknowledge it, kept telling me it was strictly professional. But then you pushed her aside, and it wasn’t like she had anyone else to speak to.”_

_Jack chuckled, and the noise seemed to bounce around in his skull._

_“Or, you know, touch. Funny, never thought I’d get laid as an AI, but hey, not complaining. Surprisingly like the real thing. Oh, and God Rhysie, it was pathetic. Just kept moaning out your name, honestly. Nearly strangled her for it, but hey, she seemed to be into it.”_

_Rhys felt his stomach churn._

_“Fiona coming back was the final straw. Made her agree to give me the final piece of code, and I was in. Well, not made, more like…rewarded her.”_

_“And then you killed her?” Rhys asked sharply._

_“Killed? Rhys, we’re AIs, you can’t kill us. Shut us down, sure, but kill? No, that’s reserved for the living. And besides, we can always boot ourselves up again.”_

_Jack shrugged._

_“But if I erased her coding, then, well, that might be a tad more difficult to come back….”_

_“Why?” Rhys asked._

_“Why?” Jack mimicked. “God, really?”_

_He snorted a little._

_“You sound so pathetic right now, you know that? Like how the hell I ever thought you could run Hyperion is beyond me. I mean, Christ, you’re so…weak.”_

_“And you’re an asshole,” Rhys retorted sharply._

_Jack clapped sarcastically._

_“Wow Rhys, I’m touched. Great insult, really just, it’s killer. Did you come up with that yourself cupcake?”_

_“Go to hell Jack,” Rhys replied and Jack smirked._

_“You know what? I can let that slide. You’re angry, Atlas is on the brink of utter chaos, your girlfriend basically just smashed your heart into itty bitty pieces…I understand.”_

_Rhys cocked an eyebrow._

_“And you know, we did work well together for a time. Hell, we still do. I helped you bring Atlas to its golden age, you made sure I didn’t rot away, you helped me come back to where I belong…it’s, it’s kinda beautiful actually when you look at it. What we made together.”_

_“What do you want Jack?” Rhys asked sharply._

_“An agreement. A chance to rewrite the past. See, last time this happened, I’ll admit, I got a bit…hasty. Didn’t really think things through. I mean, c’mon, shove some metal skeleton into your body? I mean, that’s just…that’s just dumb.”_

_Jack switched to the closest monitor to Rhys._

_“But when you gave me a second chance, I got some time. Thought some things over, figured out what went wrong before. See, I always thought it was about Hyperion. But it wasn’t, was it? It was always about that babe in the hat. From that moment in Atlas when you could have trusted me, and you picked her. It always came down to her in the end.”_

_Jack snorted._

_“You even told me when I gave you Hyperion that you wanted to fix Pandora! But for who? The bandits? No, see, you wanted things better for her. The AI was just proof of that. And it was so, so easy to get her on board with everything. I mean, I promised her I wouldn’t hurt you when I took over, but hey, that could change….”_

_“Fine. Kill me. Leave the rest of them alone,” Rhys replied and Jack snorted._

_“Oh, you think it’s that simple? See, no. I need you alive as much as I need Atlas to still be running. So, the agreement…”_

_“No, Jack,” Rhys replied angrily. “I will shut you down…”_

_“With what? I’m everywhere Rhys,” Jack replied as the door behind Rhys bolted. “And you’re just stuck here…”_

_Rhys watched in horror as the panels began to overheat and spark, Jack wavering slightly._

_“You’re just so damn predictable, you know that? I was in your head Rhysie, I know how you work.”_

_Rhys tried to move forward only to be sharply jolted again and he collapsed, taking a few shuddering breaths as Jack materialized before him._

_“Go….fuck…yourself,” Rhys spat as he panted._

_Jack tutted._

_“Language,” he replied sharply, sounding almost like a parent. “Besides, it’s great for you. You finally get to live the dream baby!”_

_Rhys shuddered as he felt lines upon lines of code begin to be uploaded into him, the text flashing before his ECHO eye. There was a moment when he was asked if he accepted the “new hardware” and before he could decline it Jack had pressed “yes”._

_Rhys gritted his teeth as he tried to rip out the cable, jarring it just enough that an error message flashed across his vision. He grinned in triumph, but when he looked up he saw Jack watching him with amusement._

_“Fine,” Jack replied, lifting up his hand and making a finger gun. He aimed at Rhys’ head and made like he was pulling a trigger, and Rhys was tempted to snort at it when he heard the telltale sound of his turrets firing in time with Jack’s movements._

_It was then that the screams started, Rhys looking up to see on one of the monitors his workers being gunned down._

_“See, this is what happens when you don’t cooperate Rhysie!” Jack yelled and it bounced around the complex. He spotted Fiona immediately and he felt his stomach tighten in horror as she stood under one of the turrets. The one she stood under turned down to her and Rhys froze._

_“So here’s the deal, cupcake. You let me in, and I make sure she lives. Hell, I’ll even set her up in a nice turbo mansion, make sure she never has to Vault hunt again a day in her life. And who knows, maybe some days I’ll let you see her too. Seems fair, doesn’t it?”_

_Rhys shook his head as he tried to figure out an alternative. Some way to shut Jack down._

_“There isn’t, pumpkin. Nice try though, valiant effort there kiddo,” Jack taunted. “You picked her before, Rhys. Now, you get to choose again. What do you trust more? The fact I won’t hurt her…or the possibility she can survive, oh, I don’t know, fifty bullets?”_

_Rhys watched for a few tense moments as the turret was poised above her head. How her teeth were set in a grimace, her gun already poised. She was ready to fight to the death, and he closed his eyes._

_“I’m willing to take my chances,” he replied with a small smirk, and Jack was stunned long enough that she was shot in the side. Rhys cried out in horror as another bullet hit her stomach, and in the next moment Rhys watched the turret drop in a pile of melted metal._

_He watched her be led away by a familiar lanky figure and he grinned as Jack groaned to himself in frustration._

_“Son of a TAINT!” Jack yelled out angrily._

_“Those are the only turrets we have, Jack,” Rhys taunted him. He didn’t know why he did it exactly, but it felt…good. Rhys tried to remove the cable from his head some more only to feel it jam itself back into his head and lock on tightly._

_“Screw this,” Jack muttered as he restarted the upload procedure, and Rhys watched his vision be filled to the brim with coding. He glanced down at his arm to see it begin to move exactly as Jack’s was, his eye flashing different shades of colour as Jack went into his systems._

_“Don’t say I didn’t give you an option,” Jack snarled as he took over entirely, and Rhys felt himself slip away moment by moment._

_Oddly enough, his mind didn’t go back to last night, or that moment in his office, or hell, even that first time in the Vault when he first felt everything begin to fall into place for him. When he allowed himself to acknowledge how he felt._

_Strangely enough, it went back to a small moment, back when they had been trying to find the next piece of Gortys._

**_Athena had been placed in charge of the driving, Sasha was passed out, Vaughn was resting against the side of the caravan and Fiona had been turning over something in her fingers. Rhys had approached her, too rattled by Jack’s words to be able to sleep, and when she looked up at him he expected her to frown._ **

**_So he was very surprised when she gave him a small smirk._ **

**_“Caught up in your thoughts too?”_ **

**_Rhys was jarred for a moment, trying to find the proper response. One that didn’t involve saying that he currently had a genocidal maniac lodged in his skull._ **

**_“What’s that?” he asked instead, pointing to the object and she rolled her eyes a little before she responded._ **

**_“Found it being hocked off for a hefty price by some Vault Hunter,” she replied as she held up the gleaming coin. She laughed to herself. “Felix challenged me to steal it. Said I needed the practice, looked surprised when I actually did it.”_ **

**_She smiled to herself._ **

**_“I guess it’s a badge of honour, being able to pickpocket a Vault Hunter,” she mused. “Though I’m convinced they let me take it.”_ **

**_“Let you take it?” Rhys asked with interest._ **

**_“I was still new to it all, I wasn’t very good,” Fiona replied with a shrug. “She must have felt it when I did it, and yet…I was able to run away.”_ **

**_“I’m sure you were just as talented at swindling people as you are now,” Rhys replied automatically before he flushed. “I, err, I mean that as a…”_ **

**_And Fiona had actually laughed a little._ **

**_“Thanks,” she replied with a cock of an eyebrow as the caravan continued to rumble through the desert._ **

**_Of course then Sasha had woken up, insisting she take over driving and the moment was broken, telling Fiona and Rhys to get some rest._ **

**_And of course the only spots available were next to each other in the dining booth, the pair making sure to curl away from each other as they slipped their eyes closed._ **

**_But for a moment…just a moment…Rhys swore he heard her mutter,_ **

**_“How the hell did he ever get far in Hyperion?”_ **

_He smiled to himself shakily before it slipped away and his eyes slid shut._

_Dimly, he heard himself being booted back up, his vision foggy and his hearing muffled as he almost seemed to be watching himself stand up and brush down his pants. Walk over to the control console, type in a few lines of text and then boot up the sound system._

_“Ahhh, it feels good to have me back, Doesn't it? Christ, I missed having a body...."_

_He couldn’t even muster a weak shudder at the familiar tone of his words._

_"The king has claimed his throne kiddos! Time for some FUN!"_

_“I’m sorry Fiona,” Rhys muttered to himself as he faded away almost completely. “Suppose it’s too late for this now, but…”_

_He chuckled weakly._

_“I think, I just might, well, love you.”_

_The words hung in the air as the blackness surrounded him._

“So who’s in for this suicide mission?” Sasha asked as the trio sat around in the Purple Skag, waiting for August to return.

Fiona couldn’t help but be impressed by how quickly her sister had got them across the Pandoran desert, though she still felt a little jostled by the experience.

Tim had looked positively green before he’d been able to recover slightly, and Fiona smiled a little at the fact he was currently sprawled out across one of the booths’ benches still clutching his stomach a little. For good measure he gave a weak moan in response.

“How was it he became a Vault Hunter again?” Sasha asked her sister, who only shrugged.

“Didn’t have a choice,” Tim groaned.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of someone agreeing to plunder a Vault to pay off student loans,” Sasha commented and Tim sighed to himself.

“Define suicide mission, Sasha,” Fiona asked.

“Well, I don’t know, normally you’re the one who comes up with these plans, but maybe we just bust back in and get Rhys out?” Sasha offered.

“Yeah, guns blazing and with little thought. Sounds excellent,” Fiona replied sarcastically as she nursed her drink. She took a small sip and shuddered at the warmness that slid down her throat.

“Well I’m sorry, do you have a better plan?” Sasha asked sharply. “In case you haven’t noticed, you’ve hardly said a word since we bolted…”

“How are we supposed to get him back, Sasha?” Fiona asked angrily. “Better yet, do we _want_ him back?”

“He’s your friend, Fiona,” Sasha reminded her. “Look, when August…”

“Don’t,” Fiona interrupted her.

“I understand you must feel like everything has collapsed around you, but…”

“No, you don’t, because I don’t feel like that,” Fiona replied automatically.

“Fiona, for crap’s sake…” Sasha responded in frustration.

“I’m sorry, am I not allowed to be mad about the fact Rhys…” Fiona began before she choked on his name. She took a long gulp from her drink and shuddered, refusing to look at Sasha. “That _he_ betrayed us for Jack again? Despite everything?”

“From the way he was acting this morning, I would highly doubt that,” Sasha replied defensively. “You saw him. He looked completely panicked. If he knew Jack was going to take over, hell, if he had been helping him to, don’t you think he would be, I don’t know, a little calmer?”

“He still picked him, Sasha. Over us, he picked that piece of shit,” Fiona spat.  

Sasha’s eyes widened as she took a step or two back. She shook her head a few times before she laughed to herself.

“Well, never expected to hear you say that, Fiona,” Sasha replied with a surprised grin.

“Say what?” Fiona asked angrily, and her sister just grinned wider. “What?”

Timothy finally sat up and looked at the pair with interest.

“You’re in love with him,” Sasha replied in awe. Fiona slammed down her drink causing it to slosh around in the glass and it only seemed to amuse Sasha.

“I-I’m not…” Fiona sputtered angrily. “Why the hell would I be…no, Sasha, I’m not _in love with him_! Christ! The sex was _good_ but not _that good_!”

“Uh huh,” Sasha replied as she crossed her arms. “And really? Didn’t need that mental image, gross…”

“I’m not…” Fiona tried again, though it sounded almost hollow in her ears. Christ. No. No, she couldn’t be. That would be absolutely impossible. She shook her head. “And even if I was…”

“Which you are…” Sasha interrupted.

“He’s long gone now. You heard him, that was all Jack. Rhys is…he’s gone, Sasha,” Fiona continued. “And unless you know of some way of getting him back, then…then there’s no point dwelling on it.”

Fiona took a swig from her drink and sighed.

“There…there might be a way,” Tim declared quietly. The pair turned to look at him in surprise and he held up his hands defensively. “Alright, so, this might be the stupidest plan ever conceived, but…what if we challenge Jack?”

Fiona frowned as Sasha shook her head.

“How would that help?” Fiona asked angrily. “He’d just rig it to his advantage…”

“Not to mention he now has a whole army of Atlas soldiers under his command,” Sasha reminded them.

“And he has everything he ever wanted, why would he risk that for a petty fight?” Fiona asked.

Timothy took a deep breath before he responded.

“Because I might have something he wants.”


	10. Unexpected Allies

She brushed back half of her hair into a plait as she kept the other side hanging loose. An old habit she supposed, too used to having half of her hair missing to change it now. She examined herself in the shoddy mirror, taking in the pair of radiant blue eyes that stared back at her.

She smiled a little to herself as she remembered a certain someone telling her she had eyes like sapphires and a face worthy of her name.

That had been so long ago now that she was surprised she still remembered it. A lot else had faded since then and yet that memory stuck for some reason.

Well, she knew the reason why. It was the first time she could remember someone who wasn’t her father looking at her like she was worth something. And unlike her father, it had been with the purest of intentions.

Ironic that they shared the same face. Also a bit…awkward, considering how she had acted after a few too many drinks when he had his arm around her waist to keep her steady.

He tasted like one of Moxxi’s cheap liquors, sweet but sharp, and when she pulled away he had gone red as a tomato. Stuttering out that she needed to go home, and he’d actually been nice enough to take her there.

That was where it had ended, just as it had begun.

Her ECHO comm buzzed and she turned to it in surprise.

One of the detriments of being thought dead: you didn’t get many callers.

She approached the device hesitantly, answering and half-expecting another telemarketer.

“Hello?”

“Hey, so, uh, hello. Do you mind opening the door? I tried knocking but I think the Skag near your door wants to bite my arm off?”

Angel actually beamed, so genuinely surprised that she didn’t even think before she ran to the door, throwing it open and pulling in the tall figure to a tight hug. The man gave a small squeak of surprise before he wrapped an arm around her and held her for a few moments, and she smiled against his chest.

She pulled away first, staring at the Skag before she muttered something and the Skag ran off.

“Sorry, had to get myself some protection after a group of bandits tried to take the hut,” Angel explained as she looked up at Timothy. “How are you Tiny Tim?”

He flushed at the nickname and she marvelled a little at how his hair was practically greyed out. So different from when she had last seen him, all dark hair and an innocent little grin adorning his features. Well, the grin was still there at least.

She used to wonder how she would be able to tell the difference between her father and this man, but soon it became very simple. Jack was hard and brash and loud in all the ways Tim was not. Also, Jack would never be caught writing fiction about bears. That tended to be the major giveaway.

“Not too bad…err, how are you?” Tim asked awkwardly and she smiled.

“Well you know, the usual. Repairing old electronics equipment, improving it, selling it on the black market. The usual,” she replied as she motioned for him to come inside. “Still doing the Vault Hunter thing?”

Timothy shook his head emphatically and she laughed.

“You got out? Nice,” she replied with a grin. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I never thought it suited you that well anyways.”

“Why not?” Tim asked defensively. “I’ll have you know I was very good.”

Angel boldly took a step forward and kissed his cheek tenderly, giggling when she saw him flush scarlet.

“You’re too sweet for it,” she murmured, patting his cheek affectionately. “So, any reason you want to visit little ol’ me?”

“Uh, well, ummm….” Tim began before he swallowed as she trailed her hand down and left it resting on his chest. He took a step back quickly and coughed. “Uh, you wouldn’t happen to know how to re-wire a New-U machine, would you?”

She frowned a little.

“What do you mean re-wire one?” she asked slowly.

“Well, I mean, with your Siren abilities and all. You know, the electrical thing. What you used to do as an AI,” Tim clarified and she went cold, staring at him warningly. “What?”

“You made me promise I wouldn’t ever have to do that again,” she replied tensely and Tim shook his head as he held his hands up.

“I wouldn’t ask if I had any other option,” Tim replied quickly. “Look, all I need is for you to restore a certain person’s data to an earlier entry.”

Angel frowned.

“Who?” she asked and Tim swallowed a little.

“Well, umm, that’s a little complicated.”

Fiona drummed her fingertips against the table as she glared at the ECHO comm.

Tim had told them he would get in contact as soon as he reached whomever this person was, not to worry in the slightest, and of course, Fiona had reacted by doing precisely that.

_“She’s a bit of a, err, tech guru. She can help us get Rhys back, but it might take some convincing,” Tim had explained as he stood up. “She only lives a short distance from here, I can make the trek on foot in two days…but I might need you to buy me some time.”_

_“What do you mean by that?” Sasha asked as she crossed her arms._

_“Well, she might not want to come right away. Might need some time to, err, convince her.”_

_“How long?” Fiona asked._

_“No clue. Hopefully a month at the most?”_

_Sasha’s eyes widened._

_“We don’t have a month,” Sasha stated and Tim sighed._

_“Look, I’m…well, I’m 80% certain she’ll want to help us, and maybe if I explain everything it could take less time, but…”_

_Tim took a deep breath._

_“If I’m not back within a month go with Sasha’s plan. Just get Rhys and get him out. She can…well, we can use her later if need be.”_

_“And remind me again why you two seem to think that is a decent plan?” Fiona protested._

_“Well, then tell us yours,” Tim requested as he slung his sniper rifle across his back._

_Fiona did not respond, taking a sip of her drink and shuddering._

_“I’ll keep you updated, but for the meantime…stay safe, alright? And if you think Jack is closing in, forget about me and just run. Promise me that.”_

_Sasha nodded curtly and Tim glanced at Fiona. She sighed before she gave him a small nod._

That had been a fortnight before, and Fiona was tempted to just call him herself when her ECHO began to buzz. Without even thinking she answered it, nearly causing it to clatter to the floor in the process as she scrambled to hold it.

“Did you find her?”

“Find who?” a familiar voice asked and Fiona clutched the ECHO tightly in shock. “What, you assembling the ol’ team in order to take me down?”

“What do you want Jack?” Fiona asked venomously.

“That’s no way to greet your lover, is it babe?” Not-Rhys declared with a chuckle. “I mean, calling me the wrong name? That’s low. C’mon, we had some good times! I mean sure, you’re a Vault Hunter and _really_ you shouldn’t still be alive, but what can I say? I’d feel horrible letting such a pretty face go to waste…”

“You’re not him,” Fiona replied sharply and she could picture the smirk.

“Sound deduction there babe. No, see, I’m better. Rhys 2.0, new and improved…”

“Screw this,” she muttered as she went to turn off the ECHO.

“No, see, you really should listen,” Not-Rhys declared with a chuckle. “Because I think I might be able to make you an offer.”

“Like what? To take over my body?” Fiona asked with a smirk.

“Rather do other things to it to be honest,” he replied and she shuddered in repulsion.

“Go to hell.”

“See, you’re not listening to me. I mean, Fiona, really. I thought you were supposed to be the sensible one. Y’know, the one people can reason with while your little sister just runs around shooting anything that moves funny?”

“Whatever your deal is, I don’t want it Jack,” Fiona replied sharply.

“Oh, but I think you do. Otherwise you would have hung up on me already,” Not-Rhys responded. She did not reply and he chuckled. “Am I right, or _am I right_?”   

“What…are you offering Jack?” Fiona asked, and she couldn’t believe she was even uttering those words.

“It’s _Rhys_ , babe. Honestly, to think you forget the name of the man you adore…”

Fiona bristled at this but did not reply.

“Oh, no response? Hit a nerve? Or are you just realizing it?” he responded with a chuckle. “Cause if it’s the latter, wow. Like, seriously, wow.”

 “What do you want?” Fiona asked angrily.

“Well, luckily for you I owe someone a favour,” Not-Rhys declared. “So here’s the deal: you leave Pandora, settle on one of the Edens in a nice little mansion with your sister, and I’ll make sure you’re well-cared for.”

Fiona blinked a few times at his offer.

“I mean, granted I would have done it sooner but you know, had to deal with some other things first,” Not-Rhys continued.

“Why?” Fiona finally managed to say, and Jack snorted.

“Just told you babe. I owe someone something, and I intend to fulfill their wishes,” Jack replied slowly as though he was talking to a rather dumb child. “Unless you have a problem with getting everything you ever wanted?”

“That’s what my sister wanted, not me,” Fiona replied automatically.

“Yeah, well, if I try talking to her she’d just shoot me in the head,” Not-Rhys responded and Fiona smirked in amusement. “Trigger happy, isn’t she?”

“One of her finer qualities,” Fiona replied proudly.

“Now, normally I would agree, but in this case, yeah, nope,” Not-Rhys replied. “So, pumpkin, whatcha say? I can schedule a shuttle to take you off-planet in the next few hours, just say the word…”

“What’s the catch?” Fiona asked warily.

“No catch,” Not-Rhys replied, and he must have sensed her hesitation. “What, a _hero_ isn’t allowed to do nice things?”

“You’re not a hero Jack,” she replied bluntly.

“Uh huh. You still haven’t answered my question,” Not-Rhys retorted. “Tick tick tick pumpkin…”

“What happens to Rhys if I go?” Fiona asked and Not-Rhys scoffed.

“Nothing, babe. Everyone just gets what they wanted,” he replied.

Fiona did not respond.

“You gotta admit kitten, what I’m offering you? Not a bad deal,” he continued. “But you know, kinda time limited, considering everything so…”

“Considering what?” Fiona asked sharply.

“Not your concern, babe,” Not-Rhys replied. “I mean, it might be if you’re stupid enough to stay but hey, you wouldn’t be that dumb right?”

Fiona didn’t even hesitate.

“I’m not him, Jack. Shove that deal up your ass douchebag,” she replied sharply, going to turn off the ECHO comm when she stopped. “Oh, and Jack?”

There was no response.

“Enjoy that body while it’s still yours, _kiddo_.” 

She heard the ECHO be picked up roughly before the sound of the device being thrown against the wall, and she smirked to herself.

“Don’t say I never gave you a chance babe…” Jack snarled. “Because I really, really wanted to.”

He hung up after that and she allowed a shiver to pass through her as the ECHO began to beep again.

She answered, hearing some panting and the sounds of guns being shot.

“Fiona?” Tim yelled out desperately, sounding far away. “Fiona if you’re hearing this say something!”

“Something,” she replied cheekily and she heard him chuckle.

“Alright, so, slight change of plans,” Tim declared as the guns continued to be fired. “May or may not have run into a few bandits who…yeah, yeah they pretty much want us dead. We’ll meet you at the cave entrance, alright? Bring your guns.”

The line clicked off and she sighed to herself. She hoisted herself to her feet as Sasha entered with some bottles of wine, the latter watching her with interest.

“Any news?”

Fiona prepped her gun, spinning the chambers as she loaded it.

“Timothy found her…but he ran into some complications. Grab your guns.”

Sasha all but dropped the bottles onto the covered bench, causing them to clatter a little before they luckily rested in the middle.

“Thought you’d never ask.”

 

Fiona and Sasha ran out, their guns fully prepped as they intended to fire at the first solider they saw.

Except when they emerged…the entire crew appeared to be lying on the ground, their guns smoking as they were rigidly clutched at their chests, their arms, anything they could reach as Fiona smelled charred flesh. She gagged at the scent, completely horrified at the sight of severe burns on their bodies.

“Thanks,” she heard Timothy declare in awe, and she looked towards the source to see him staring entranced at a woman with raven black hair whose arm was covered in glowing white markings. She lowered her arm and grinned at Tim.

“No problem,” she replied with a mock curtsey.

“What the hell just happened?” Sasha asked as she approached and the woman glanced at her. She raised her arm, the markings beginning to glow but Tim got to her first, placing his hand on her wrist as he lowered her arm back to her side. Fiona noticed he ran this thumb across it tenderly and it caused her to cock an eyebrow. “Wait a minute, she’s…”

“A Siren, yeah,” Tim replied quickly. “Look, we need to get inside. Now.”

“If you’re worried about Jack, don’t be. Prick already contacted me and tried to make me a deal,” Fiona spat. “He knows where we are.”

“And you neglected to tell me this why?” Sasha asked sharply.

“When did he contact you?” Tim asked worriedly.

“Few minutes ago, why?” Fiona asked.

Tim closed his eyes and groaned.

“Doesn’t give us much time,” he replied quickly. He turned to Angel, finally seeming to notice he still was holding her wrist, dropping it with a slight flush to his cheeks. “Angel, can you tell us where the nearest New-U station is?”

Angel took a few moments before she responded.

“If Rhys hasn’t touched them then there’s one in Prosperity Junction.”

She chuckled to herself.

“Surprised I still remember that,” she mused before she shook her head. “But it’s impossible to get to by nightfall unless we have some form of transport.”

“Not a problem,” Sasha piped up. “August left the car, we can take that. He’s doing deals around Hollow Point today anyways.”

Angel nodded as she glanced at Sasha, though Fiona noticed Angel’s eyes never really seemed to leave Tim’s face. Tim happened to glance down at her and give her a small smile and Fiona smiled a little at how the woman blushed.

“Let’s get moving then,” Fiona declared, causing the pair to both look away with awkward grins before they both nodded.

 

It was a rare stroke of luck, the New-U station still functional and Angel wasted no time sitting down before it as she rested her hand against the console.

Tim had elected to keep watch and Sasha had joined him, leaving Fiona alone with the dark-haired woman. Fiona laughed a little at how Tim kept glancing back at Angel.

“You’re supposed to be keeping watch Tim!” Fiona teased and he flushed scarlet before he turned around.

“He’s very excitable, isn’t he?” Fiona asked rhetorically and Angel laughed.

“No, he just gets that way around pretty women,” Angel replied with a smile as she worked, and Fiona smiled in response at the slight compliment as he remember how red Tim had become around her back in Kratos. “You should have seen him with Moxxi. Went beet red whenever she even looked at him.”

“Mad Moxxi?” Fiona asked in surprise.

“Yep. Met her when he was working for Handsome Jack. It was sweet actually,” Angel mused as the screen booted up. The normal screen booted up before her arm glowed and an error message flashed, and Fiona’s mouth fell open as Angel scanned over lines and lines of code which seemed to move on their own to the sides of the screen. She chuckled a little. “He asked her to marry him the second time they saw each other, I nearly started cackling when I saw it. Poor lovestruck fool…”

“And she rejected him?” Fiona asked with a smile.

“No, she accepted the proposal, actually. Well, eventually, from what I heard. He was mysterious husband number 4 for a few years until she left him for greener pastures,” Angel replied with a sad smile. “Broke his heart for good I think.”

Fiona glanced at the man and frowned a little.

“Don’t really know what happened after that,” Angel confessed. “It was around the time that the Vault of the Warrior was opened, and…”

Angel’s smile faded and was replaced with a frown.

“Hey Tim?” she called out suddenly, causing the man to turn around eagerly. “There’s three files here, which one do we want?”

Tim approached them and looked at the screen.

“Holy…” he began as he took in the numbers and Fiona smiled a little as he puffed out a sigh. “Guess some things are inherited…”

He glanced at Angel.

“The second-oldest one, I think?” he replied and she chuckled.

“You mean the one in the middle?” she asked, pointing to one set of numbers and letters. He just shook his head and smiled to himself.

“Sorry, we can’t all be genius Sirens,” he replied with a small grin as he looked at her affectionately.

 _Yeah, **definitely** never going to fall in love again, _ Fiona thought with amusement.

“Oh hush, you have other talents,” Angel replied genuinely as she went to work on the middle file.

“So what’s the plan then?” Fiona asked as Angel worked.

“Well, if we can get this running then we can override the AI hitching a ride in your friend’s head,” Angel replied. “We’re lucky, Atlas released their own model a few years ago so these are no longer in use. Means Jack doesn’t have access to them. When the time comes I can short out the nearest Atlas models forcing Rhys to re-generate here.”

 “I thought these only worked if a person in the system died,” Fiona commented. Angel went silent, continuing to work and Fiona felt her stomach drop. She looked at Tim sharply who refused to meet her eyes.

“Fiona…” Tim began and she cut him off.

“That’s the plan? Your grand plan is to just kill him and hope he re-generates here?” Fiona asked sharply. “That has got to be, hands down, one of the stupidest…”

“We don’t have much other choice Fiona,” Tim hissed angrily. “Unless you didn’t notice, Rhys is gone. You heard what he sounded like when we left Kratos, hell you spoke to him. Handsome Jack has lodged himself into Rhys’s brain, and he’s not going to leave any time soon. We have to force him out in a way he’s not expecting, catch him off guard.”

“We. Are. Not. Killing. Rhys,” Fiona emphasized. “Jack was in his head before and he was able to get him out!”

“Jack wanted to be out of Rhys’ head, Fiona,” Tim replied. “We don’t have that luxury this time.”

Tim shuddered.

“I-If there was any other way to do this…”

Fiona wracked her brain for any form of alternative to this. To having to shoot Rhys, watch him bleed out and pray that he would be able to come back. Have to watch as he stared at her venomously, muttering angrily words that were not his own.

_Not his own…_

Fiona felt the realization hit her like a blow to the stomach.

“We don’t need to get Jack out…we just need to get Rhys back in,” Fiona began slowly. “Angel, can you download a copy of Rhys’ data?”

Angel nodded slowly before she grinned and nodded more enthusiastically.

“Might take some time, but sure!”  

“What are you thinking?” Tim asked in interest.

Fiona rubbed her temples.

“Nothing good. But frankly…it’s worth a shot.”

She took a deep breath.

“We need to go back to Kratos.”

 

_“So that’s your plan?” Angel asked skeptically. “To…I’m sorry, she’s never going to believe we actually want to do that, does she?”_

_Tim sighed a little as he rubbed his forehead._

_“Look, the only way I can see her being able to jolt herself into action is if we give her good reason to…”_

_“So what? Threatening to kill her boyfriend is the best way to do that?” Angel asked gently. “Tim, if it doesn’t work, and she agrees, then what do we do? Suddenly shrug and say, wait no that’s ridiculous?”_

_Angel leaned forward in her seat._

_“And what do you need me for? Surely you can find someone else who can hack into a New-U machine?”_

_“No one I can trust,” Tim replied honestly. “And no one who knows the systems as well as you do. You helped design them after all.”_

_Tim shrugged._

_“Besides, this means you can help take down your father once and for all. You always told me your biggest regret when I was stitching you back up was that you never got to fight him yourself.”_

_Angel smiled at this._

_“Fair enough. I’m in.”_

_Tim looked stunned._

_“R-really?” he asked in surprise. When she nodded his eyes just got wider. “Wow. Uh. I thought that would take more convincing.”_

_“You obviously have forgotten what he did to me, Tim,” she replied bluntly. “Any chance to take down that asshole I’m more than willing to be a part of. Even if he is some crappy AI now…”_

_She stood up and began to pack up her belongings. Tim watched her silently before she turned to him and grinned._

_“Well? Are we leaving or what?”_


	11. The Plan

_He took a long drag from the cigarette between his lips, stretched out languidly with his legs propped on the desk as he admired the view of people milling about outside._

_It had been all too simple to convince Atlas that everything was still hunky-dory, that the whole Handsome Jack moment was merely an error in coding they had promptly deleted. A few well-worded speeches, a bright grin and everything seemed to go back to normal._

_Well, almost normal._

_Jack admired the soldiers that were walking around, their guns strapped to their hips, marching in perfect formation. The populace had been a little surprised when he made a general call out to Pandora for anyone looking to make a decent amount of cash in exchange for working for Atlas as part of their military personnel (no experience required), most of the people who showed up no-class bandits._

_He’d easily disposed of those ones._

_The Atlas soldiers that emerged from the shadows, however…now those were useful to him. The ones itching to pick up a gun again, to be under company control. The chance to have a solid paycheque was too great for most of the people here and hell, Jack was more than happy to provide._

_So long as **he** benefitted, of course. No use giving someone something they wanted unless you got something in return. That was just basic logic. After all, you couldn’t afford to be selfless in this business. _

_He expelled the smoke in a long exhale, tapping the ashes into a coffee cup when he heard his ECHO begin to beep. He glanced over at the device as he took another drag before he groaned and sat up, his feet falling to the floor with a loud thump before he padded over to the device on the opposite end of the room._

_His fingertips brushed over the duct tape holding it together, his eyes scanning over the caller ID before he felt a slow grin adorn his handsome features._

_She’d come crawling back, right on schedule. Well. Good to know she had some common sense, he was starting to get worried._

_“Come to grovel, eh? Well, can’t say I blame ya babe,” he muttered before he answered the call._

Her stomach seemed to be twisted into a permanent knot as Sasha’s vehicle bumped and dipped as they sped across the Pandoran desert back to Kratos.

This was a dangerous game they were playing, she knew that. And it wasn’t as if she had any fallback plan if this all went to ruins, which it most likely would if her past experiences were anything to be based on.

But they needed Rhys back, if not for them then for the good of Pandora. The quartet had all seen what Handsome Jack had tried to do before, and no one wanted that to happen again. For Pandora to be brought to the brink of ruin all in the name of one man’s desperation to do what he thought was best.

And if that meant taking a risk to do it…then so be it.

 _It’s just like any other job_ , Fiona thought as the car continued to rumble along. _Just another con._

And yet her stomach continued to twist, tighter and tighter as they approached the building. Fiona took a deep breath as they stopped in front of the gates, nodding to the rest of the group before she grabbed her bag from the trunk and slung it over her shoulder.

“Remember, if this all goes to hell…” Fiona began.

“It won’t,” Sasha replied automatically.

“No hesitation,” Fiona continued as she opened the door. “You need to promise me that.”

The trio nodded as she slipped out of the car, closing the door with a firm whack. She looked back into the car to see Tim and Angel prepping their guns, looking up in time to give her small smiles before Sasha sped off back towards Hollow Point. Or, at least, that was how they were going to make it look anyway.

She took a deep breath and pressed the button for the intercom. When there was no response she pressed again, a little less calmly this time as she risked a glance into the compound. There were certainly a lot more soldier then she recalled from before and she gulped. Definitely too many to take down on her own if everything went south in the next few moments.

She went to press it a third time when the gates swung open, a familiar figure wearing an unfamiliar grin looking at her with apparent amusement. It looked all wrong on his features, too cold and menacing to be Rhys and she was reminded once again who it was she was dealing with.

“Thought I told you…” he began when she clutched his lapels and yanked him forward, her mouth crashing against his. He seemed just a tad startled before he responded, his teeth yanking on her bottom lip almost immediately before he sucked it into his mouth. His hands went to her hips, gripping tightly as he groaned a little. He was the one to pull away first and she tried not to grimace as she swore she tasted copper in her mouth. He chuckled a little before he gripped her chin between his forefinger and his thumb. “Slow down there kitten, save some of the fun for later…”

His hand dropped down to her ass and squeezed as she yelped a little in surprise.

“Though I do like giving people a good show,” he continued with a wink and she tried not to gag. She pasted on a bright grin and cocked an eyebrow.

“So what’s stopping you?” she asked and he laughed, a sharp sort of sound before he wrapped his arm around her waist. He took the bag from her arm and slung it over his shoulder, motioning for her to follow him as they walked through Kratos.

Damn, even the way he _walked_ radiated Handsome Jack, all swagger but with absolutely no substance to it. She rolled her eyes at it as he began to ramble to her about all the “improvements” Kratos had undergone, though when he looked back at her she smiled and nodded.

“You don’t seem impressed babe,” he declared as they reached the main building where his office was located. He sailed through the doors and smirked as people in the main area parted like the Red Sea, murmuring as they watched the pair walk through.

“Must have been on Pandora for too long,” she replied and he actually grinned as he stepped into the elevator, her quick on his heels. “Everything starts to look the same after awhile…”

“I feel slightly hurt, babe, but I’m not gonna lie, the indifference? Kinda hot,” Not-Rhys retorted as the doors slid shut. He reached behind her and hit the button for the top floor, using the opportunity to wrap an arm around her waist as he yanked her forward.

His hand locked onto the back of her head as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, groaning appreciatively as she placed her hands on his waist.

 _Just a con, just another con, it’ll be fine once it’s all done_ , she thought rapidly to quell her disgust.

God, she wasn’t going to have to sleep with him, was she?

She pulled away a little and he used the opportunity to drop his mouth to her neck, nipping at the skin as she felt like every other bit of flesh was trying to crawl away from his touch. His hands possessively went to her hips and she prayed the crew would work just a little faster.

The doors opened thankfully, and he pulled away with a satisfied grin, leading her to his office.

Her mouth fell open as she saw that almost every surface was covered in papers and schematics, some of them taped to the walls with messy scrawl written across them.

“You’ve been busy,” she declared honestly and he chuckled.

“All part of the job babe,” he replied as he tossed the bag at her. She caught it quickly and looked back at him. “Now, why don’t you go slip into something a little less…bandit-y, hmm?”

His ECHO eye scanned over her figure and she had never felt so exposed. Or disgusted, for that matter.

“Besides, we both know you look so much better without them on,” he purred, and she pasted on a coy grin as she went to change in his bedroom. “Ah ah ah kitten, where do you think you’re going?”

She turned to him in surprise, barely two steps away from him.

“To get changed?” she replied automatically as he approached, and he spun her around on her heel.

“And let me miss all the fun?” he asked before he began to tsk. “Fiona, baby, we both know that the most fun of getting a gift is unwrapping it…”

Oh yeah. When she got home she was _definitely_ going to vomit for an hour straight.

“I’m not a gift Ja – Rhys,” she replied with a cock of an eyebrow and he just grabbed her hips again as he drew himself close. He leaned in, his breath ghosting over her mouth and she seriously wanted to punch him in the jaw.

“Aren’t you though?” he asked as his thumbs rubbed into her hips in small circles. “I mean, after all this time…”

He kissed the side of her neck.

“All this damn resistance,” he continued as he went to the other side of her neck.

He sucked on the skin for a moment, biting down a little before he soothed the mark with his tongue, and she had to admit it felt sort of…no, no it felt all wet and horrible and oh God what the hell was she doing?

It’s not Rhys, she reminded herself. None of this is Rhys.

“It feels like freaking Christmas,” he continued gleefully as he went to kissing her jawline, that same mouth going over the same areas that before had nearly driven her up the wall, but now just made her want to break a few of his teeth for how they scraped across her skin. “I mean, I expected you would come crawling back, but to say you had always wanted me?”

He pulled away and cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking across her face as she refused to meet his eyes.

“That you could never see anyone but me by your side?” he continued and she felt her eyes begin to prickle.

“Rhys…” she began quietly.

“That you freaking knew I was your universe? Oh baby, I was a goner,” he declared with a laugh.

“Rhys, please stop…” she continued quietly, trying to force the tears back.

“I mean, sorta wished you let me know sooner, but hey, you’re worth waiting for kiddo,” he murmured before he kissed her softly, less teeth and more tenderness, and for a few brief moments she could pretend.

Because hearing him repeat back in that slightly mocking tone everything she had said in her message…all those words she thought were just that, words to keep him from figuring out the true reason for her being here…she realized something that made her stomach drop in shock.

She had meant every last word.

And Rhys was not here to even hear her say it.

He pulled away with a soft grin, and it was so like Rhys’ that for a brief second she wondered if perhaps he was still there. He kissed her forehead and she gripped his arms tightly as he cupped her face, praying Jack would just stop talking. Let her pretend for a few moments longer that nothing had changed.

“Laid it on a bit thick though, didn’t cha?”

 

Timothy typed in the access code to the control room, motioning for Angel to follow him. The pair slipped inside, and for a moment Angel froze as she took in the familiar set up of consoles and monitors. She felt Tim slip his hand into hers and squeeze it gently.

“Just a few minutes and I promise you’ll never need to see something like this again,” Tim declared and she laughed weakly.

“That’s what you said the last time too,” she declared as she released his hand, approaching one of the control panels.

She typed into one of the consoles, easily maneuvering through the access codes as Tim glanced around the room. The sniper rifle rested against his back as he leaned against the back wall and he rubbed his eyes.

“You alright?” Angel asked as she typed and he gave a weak chuckle.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Tim replied and she smiled to herself. “I-I never meant for you to need to do this again. I swear. I just…”

“I know,” Angel replied as she typed. “Jack didn’t leave you much choice though, did he?”

Tim sighed to himself.

“He was never meant to come back, you know?” Tim responded as he watched her hack into the systems. “He was just meant to stay dead and then we could all just move on with our lives…”

Angel stopped typing and looked back at him to see him looking at his shoes.

“This isn’t just about the AI, is it?” she asked quietly. He looked up at her and did not respond. “Tim, you had the option, back when he died. You…”

He chuckled weakly.

“You mean this old thing?” he asked as he gestured to his face. “No, believe or not I can live with this.”

He moved away from the wall and approached her, his footfalls echoing through the chamber. She watched as he took the gun off his back and placed it on one of the chairs, tracing it for a few moments before he met her eyes. He stood up to his full height, his gaze never breaking from hers.

“You want to know the reason I helped you escape that day?” he asked and she nodded. “Because I wanted you to get a second chance. To be able to start anew without his constant shadow.”

He stepped towards her.

“I wanted you to have a life, Angel,” he continued with a small smile. “Because I owed it to that girl I saw strapped to a chair that looked so damn hopeful whenever I entered the room, happy to have someone to talk to besides her nut of a father.”

Tim chuckled.

“Even if I did look just like him.”

She smiled at this, taking a few steps forward of her own.

“Because you deserved so much more than what he gave you,” Tim continued, his voice cracking a little.

“And so did you,” Angel replied with a warm grin. “And you did it, for the both of us. You got us out, and I’m…”

Angel took a deep breath.

“I’m always going to love you for that, I think,” she declared shakily.

Tim met her eyes in shock as he took a few steps back.

“Tim, you gave me everything and expected nothing in return. And yet…I wanted you to give me more,” Angel confessed. “Hell, I knew I was young and stupid and it was bound to end in ruins if we were ever going to get the opportunity, but I loved you. I fell for you from the first time I realized that there was someone out there who didn’t seem to base my worth on if I could hack something, or charge a Vault Key, or even care that I was some lonely, sheltered child who knew nothing of the real world.”

Tim took a few shaky breaths.

“And yeah, you look like him. But Christ Tim, you’re not him at all. You’re kind and you’re sweet and…you understand in a way that no one else I think ever will what it’s like to be under his thumb.”

Tim did not respond, his eyes finally dropping from hers and she felt a wave of nausea go through her.

“Oh. You don’t…oh,” Angel continued. “T-That’s…”

“Angel…” Tim began. He glanced up at the screen. “You should, umm, you should really plug in the ID drive so the AI can run through the system and clear out Jack.”

Angel nodded to herself a few times, trying to avoid the prickle behind her eyes as she turned around and pulled out the drive. With a sharp click she inserted the drive, pressing a few keys to boot it up.

“Lucky I still remember my old codes, eh?” she replied with a weak chuckle. “Let’s hope Jack hasn’t built up any firewalls…”

She turned to face Tim, refusing to meet his eyes.

“It, umm, it takes a bit of time to go through the whole system.”

Tim nodded and made a small noise in the back of his throat.

“I-I’m sorry if I made you…”

“You want to know one of the real reasons I made sure you got out?” Tim asked. She nodded and he chuckled nervously. “Because I thought if I couldn’t be happy, at least you could.”

He chuckled again.

“I-I mean if you could be happy then it didn’t need to matter that I was the creepy guy who fell for the girl who…”

“Was the daughter of the man you were supposed to impersonate?” Angel supplied and he smiled.

“Yeah. That.”

He scuffed one of his feet against the floor.

“So, well, I guess it’s not as creepy now knowing that you, err, feel the same I guess. I mean, if you still feel the same, wouldn’t blame you if…”

Angel took a few confident strides towards him and stood up on her tiptoes, her mouth brushing over his softly. She pulled away to see his cheeks go a violent shade of red and she giggled before she pulled him in close, her hand going to the back of his neck.

She felt his arms wrap around her before he lifted her up, his mouth moving against hers so sweetly that she grinned against his mouth before she deepened the kiss.

“Rhys protocol complete,” the computer declared and she pulled away to glance at the screen, grinning from ear to ear as she expected to see a young man looking down at her.

The handsome man on the screen glanced around in confusion, opening his mouth to speak when he suddenly froze, glitching violently.

Tim dropped her gently as she ran up to the console, looking through the damaged codes as they flashed across the screens.

“No no no, it was supposed to work,” she murmured, the panic rising in her chest as she typed frantically.

“W-w-w-what is going on?” the man on the screen asked fearfully as he looked down at them before he faded away entirely, to be replaced by a blue figure who looked livid as all hell as he glanced around.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you think it would be that simple, hmm, cupcake?” he barked out violently as Angel took a few steps back, Tim’s arms going around her protectively. “Did you think I would make the same mistakes as last time? Did you seriously think I would be taken out _that easily_?”

The man on the screen finally glanced down at her, and all the anger faded from his features to be replaced by genuine confusion.

“A-Angel?”


	12. The Cost

"Laid it on a bit thick though, didn't cha?"  
  
She froze, stepping back rapidly as Not-Rhys looked at her with a cold grin.  
  
"But hey, if it gets you what you want then who cares?" He continued with a shrug. "Can't say I blame you babe."  
  
"What do you mean?" Fiona asked, feigning ignorance. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest, as she prayed Tim and Angel has uploaded the Rhys AI.  
  
"You know, I meant it before. I was ready to give you a way out, but no, you insisted on staying on this shithole," he declared as he elected to ignore her question. "And honestly, I could respect that."  
  
He leaned against his desk.  
  
"But then you just had to push your luck, didn't cha kiddo?"  
  
Fiona didn't respond.  
  
"I mean, kudos, you even had me believing it for a minute," he continued as he leaned against his desk.  
  
He reached behind him and drew forward a pistol, the metal dragging against the wood as he brought it forward. He rested it in his palm for a moment before he cocked it, watching Fiona with a slow grin.  
  
"So what, you just shoot me now?" Fiona asked with a small smirk despite the slight tremor in her voice. "That's not predictable."  
  
"Babe, why would I shoot you?" He asked with a cock of an eyebrow. "Especially without giving you a fair opportunity..."  
  
"Since when are you fair?" She asked in disbelief and he laughed.  
  
"Oh babe, I'm always fair. You Pandorans just refuse to admit that..." He replied as he watched her. "I'm probably the fairest of them all."  
  
She rolled her eyes at that statement.  
  
"So here's my little deal for you: leave Pandora, take your sister, start fresh."  
  
"Why do you want us off Pandora so bad?" Fiona asked sharply.  
  
"I wouldn't question it if I were you," he replied.  
  
"If you're giving me a deal I think I deserve to know what happens if I don't take it," Fiona responded.  
  
"You die," he replied with a shrug.  
  
"So you shoot me then?"  
  
Not-Rhys rolled his eyes.  
  
"Christ no wonder he thought he hated you for so long," he muttered. "Look, if I was you I wouldn't ask how it would happen so much as try to make sure it didn't happen..."  
  
"Why do you seem so eager to keep us alive?" Fiona retorted. "Because if it's for Rhys' benefit..."  
  
"You think I care what that little prick wants?" He replied sharply. "After what he did to me back on Helios? After he betrayed me like all the rest?"  
  
He waved the gun around for a few moments as he gestured wildly.  
  
"The only reason I haven't rammed a bullet through your skull is because I owe her!" He yelled.  
  
"Her?" Fiona asked in confusion. "The Fiona AI?"  
  
He opened his mouth to respond when he jerked violently, the gun slipping from his grasp as he clutched his head.  
  
He blinked a few times as he stumbled back, the backs of his knees hitting the desk violently as he gritted his teeth.  
  
He looked up at her, his ECHO eye flashing between gold and blue before it settled on blue for a moment.  
  
"F-F-Fiona?" He asked softly. "W-w-what's happening?"  
  
"Rhys?" She asked as she took a few steps forward.  
  
"W-where are..." He began before he curled in, his hands gripping at his skull.  
  
She took a few steps forward before she yanked his arms down, cupping his cheek as she looked into his eyes.  
  
The coldness was gone, replaced by genuine confusion as he seemed to realize her hand was pressed to his cheek.  
  
"Are you alright Fiona?" He asked as he watched her skeptically.  
  
She laughed brokenly before she drew him towards her, her mouth pressed against his before she could even consider what she was doing.  
  
He froze and pulled away as he looked at her, still puzzled.  
  
"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked. "I mean, don't get me wrong I'm happy to see you I just...thought you hated me?"  
  
"Far from it," Fiona replied with a grin. "Look, I'll explain it later, in the meantime we need to go..."  
  
She clasped his hand and began to lead him out of the office when a sharp boom went through the building, knocking the pair to the floor at the impact.  
  
Fiona began to stumble to her feet as she turned back to Rhys.  
  
"Are you alright?" She asked as she looked at him.  
  
"Never been better babe," he replied as he stood up, yanking her to her feet before he clasped her wrist tightly. He dragged her back to the centre of the room, ignoring her protests.  
  
He all but threw her across the desk, approaching quickly before his hands went to her throat.  
  
"I should have done this years ago when I had the chance," he spat as she clawed at his arms.  
  
"Rhys...please..." She choked out.  
  
"You couldn't just leave her out of this, could you? Had to play hero and needed a sacrificial lamb!" He roared. "Do you know what it feels like to watch your daughter die? Twice?"  
  
He banged Fiona's head against the desk.  
  
"You Vault Hunters don't seem to understand, do you? What I had to do to keep her safe?" He continued as he clutched tighter. "And yet you put her in danger just for your own ambitions!"  
  
He banged Fiona's head again.  
  
"Well congrats kiddo, you've destroyed her and Kratos!" He yelled as he hovered over her. "I hope you're..."  
  
There was a sharp whizz that ran through the air before he slumped forward, blood dripping from his chest as he began to wheeze painfully.  
  
She shoved him off her to see Tim standing there, one arm dangling uselessly as the other clutched a sniper rifle. The useless arm was charred, half his features covered in burns.  
  
"We have to go," he declared as he pulled her to her feet with his good arm.  
  
"What...about....him?" Fiona wheezed as she looked at the man struggling to stand up. "Tim, we can't..."  
  
"He isn't Rhys anymore, we can't save him," Tim replied sharply as she tried to catch her breath.  
  
"Yes we can, I just saw him before Jack..."  
  
"Jack erased the code along with any trace of Rhys left in there, Fiona," Tim replied as he yanked her forward.  
  
"How do you know that for sure?" She asked as she yanked her arm from his grasp.  
  
Tim took a shuddering breath.  
  
"Because he told me so."  
  
Tim gripped her arm and moved them into the reception area, the elevator doors still open. He shoved them inside and slammed down on the elevator button, the doors slipping closed before it plummeted and creaked.  
  
"What happened in there Tim?" Fiona asked sharply as they reached the main floor.  
  
The pair ran as he spoke, dodging falling debris as they made their way to the main gate.  
  
"He detected the code in the system.  Turned out he figured out a way to connect his consciousness to the Kratos database, and..."  
  
Tim swallowed audibly.  
  
"How to protect the data. He wired the control panels to automatically shock anyone who tried to break into the system if he had been signalled of an intrusion and...Angel tried to overpower it long enough to get Rhys back in."  
  
He took a shuddering breath.  
  
"Overloaded the systems...and it just..."  
  
Tim stopped and cupped his mouth. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook violently.  
  
"He just kept screaming, telling her to go...Fiona, I could take it if he was livid, but he just...he sounded as panicked as I was. Kept saying she had to stop and...and of course she didn't listen."  
  
Tim chuckled brokenly.  
  
"Why would she?" He asked as they stood there. "She...she didn't suffer too long. She...she..."  
  
Tim took a shuddering breath.  
  
"We need to keep moving," Fiona declared gently as she broke into a sprint. Tim followed silently, their footfalls echoing through the town square.  
  
Fiona smiled brokenly in relief as she spotted the car, actually overjoyed when she saw a familiar mass of blond hair.  
  
"We need to go back to Hollow Point and regroup," Fiona declared.  
  
"Where's Rhys?" Sasha asked sharply and Fiona shook her head.  
  
"He...he can't be...." Fiona began.  
  
Sasha barely hesitated, prepping her gun before she sprinted towards the main building.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" August asked angrily.  
  
"We can still save him. I met someone in Hollow Point, they said for a good price they can reboot his systems..." She yelled. "I contacted her and..."  
  
"Sasha, no!" Fiona screamed as Sash continued to run. She turned to August sharply. "Get her back, please!"  
  
August nodded before he sprinted after his wife, easily catching up to her before he wrapped his arms around her waist. He murmured something into her ear and she resisted for a moment before she collapsed against him, sobbing.  
  
Fiona only had to watch for a few moments as they turned around, August giving Fiona a weak thumbs up before time seemed to slow down.  
  
Two shots cracked through the air and Fiona watched as both Sasha and August collapsed, smacking into the ground painfully.  
  
August drew Sasha in close as they fell, an automatic reaction as they curled into each other, the blood pouring from the back of their heads before they both stilled.  
  
Fiona looked up to see Rhys hanging out of his office window, the sniper rifle trained towards Timothy.  
  
She heard herself scream before she shoved him out of the way, the bullet lodging itself into her shoulder as she cried out in pain.  
  
"Fiona!" Tim yelled as the darkness began to cloud her vision.  
  
She welcomed it openly.


	13. The Escape

Tim wished he'd been able to shoot him again. To drive a bullet into his skull, watch him bleed out. Lean over his dying frame as he would be able to utter the words, "I won."  
  
Except this did not feel like a win in the slightest.  
  
Tim watched as the man in the window slumped forward, taking a few shaky breaths before he stilled.  
  
He would later hear that when they found the body, the bullet was found straight through Rhys' heart.  
  
Felt fitting, in some sort of way. 

  
  
Tim kept her alive using med packs and enough sedatives to tranquilize a skag, her wounds bandaged and her head treated to the best of his ability. She needed rest and he could afford to at least give her that.  
  
He didn't allow himself to acknowledge what has happened. What he had lost. What they had all sacrificed.  
  
The day she awoke was possibly the worst day in his existence, and that was including the day he underwent the surgery.  
  
She didn't scream or wail or beg. She just...went cold. Kept insisting that they needed to find the Vault, find some way to get her back home.  
  
The look in her eyes terrified him. Because it was completely hollowed out. 

Because it was a reflection of his own expression.

They survived for months on the run, watched Atlas crumble and another company take its place. Did odd jobs for people to earn some cash. Both didn't acknowledge that they wished the others were still with them, that there were moments where they couldn't even look at each other as they desperately tried not to dwell on the past. Where a flash of black hair would make Tim freeze in his tracks, or how Fiona would look at Tim's cybernetics with a sort of sadness that Tim knew he could not alleviate no matter how hard he tried.  
  
It was inevitable that something would develop, a hollow imitation of what they had both has before. But it felt nice to have someone there, a warm body to hold. Someone you could trust to have your back when the Skags came, or the bandits broke into their encampment. Even if at times Tim pretended that his hands were carding through cropped black hair or Fiona traced his cybernetic arm for a few moments too long.  
  
Neither tried to make it anything more than it was. They couldn't afford to.  
  
  
_A year passed before they found the Vault of the Traveller, the pair of them covered in dirt as they ran into the cave._  
  
_Fiona had reached for him automatically before he took a step back._  
  
_"I was never meant to come with you, Fiona," he declared gently. The metal arm he had been fitted with by a rather nice Vault Hunter gleamed in the purple hue of the casket. "Besides, I have a few universes I wouldn't mind exploring."_  
  
_She has responded by stepping away from the casket, her hands going to his jacket before she pulled him close._  
  
_The kiss was brief, no more than a quick peck before she pulled away and smiled sadly._  
  
_"Take care of yourself Timothy Lawrence," she murmured as he looked down at her._  
  
_"You too Fiona..." He replied before he hesitated. "Err, actually I don't know your last name..."_  
  
_She laughed a little._  
  
_"Legally it's Kadam," she confessed._  
  
_Tim's eyes widened as he took a step back._

 _" **Nisha** Kadam?"_  
  
_"She didn't stick around long enough to be a mother though, so I never really considered her mine," Fiona continued. "Besides, I had Felix and Sasha. I didn't need anyone else."_  
  
_Tim nodded before he chuckled nervously._  
  
_"Somehow that doesn't surprise me, knowing her. Never really took her for the motherly type based on what happened with her own."_

 _He held Fiona tightly for a moment before he let her go._  
  
_"If you remember any of this when you go back...don't hesitate to try to find me alright?" Tim requested. "Might be nice to have someone around I can trust while I'm running around Pandora."_  
  
_She grinned and nodded._

 _"Don't forget to say hi to everyone for me," Tim murmured as she stepped up to the casket._  
  
_Her hand hesitated over the casket before she opened it._  
  
_A cool violet light surrounded her frame completely before she disappeared._

  
  
_Tim sighed before he approached the casket himself, opening it as he took a deep breath._  
  
_He felt a sharp tug as he squeezed his eyes shut, feeling weightless before he landed with a soft thump._  
  
_He felt someone smack his cheek and his eyes flew open as he looked up at a starry sky._  
  
_"You alright there Jack?" A familiar voice asked with a dry laugh as he turned to look at a pair of molten gold eyes._  
  
_He sat up as the Indian woman knelt beside him._  
  
_"Where the hell am I?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes, pulling back his hand to see...there were no age spots._  
  
_"Elpis, where else?" Nisha replied as she glanced around before she stood up._  
  
_He gulped audibly._  
  
_"Well? You coming or what?" She asked sharply as he stumbled to his feet._  
  
_He nodded, picking up the pistols beside him as he followed her._  
  
_There was a sharp buzzing in his ear before a cool, gentle voice began to speak._  
  
_"You alright Tim?" Angel asked desperately and he couldn't help but giggle a little hysterically._  
  
_"I'm fine," he replied, and he was shocked at himself. Because he actually meant it._  
  
_He was getting a second chance._  
  
_And he was damn sure he wasn't going to put it to waste._

_Now, he just needed to figure out a way to get off this frigging moon...._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end of the tale, kiddos! 
> 
> Welll, part 1 anyways! ;-)
> 
> I just want to thank every single person who read this work, gave it kudos and made time to give comments on it! It has been just as entertaining reading your reactions as writing this story! 
> 
> If you're looking for more Rhyiona, then you might enjoy looking at part 2 of the "series", Before the War. Although it's not a direct sequel, it IS Rhys' side of what happened after he touched the casket in the Vault of the Traveller. And it has Rhys and Fiona being little shits to each other (and being CLOSE IN AGE THIS TIME YAY), which I know you all love....

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Thirty-Two](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11341668) by [a_borderlands_tale (the_lady_storyteller)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_lady_storyteller/pseuds/a_borderlands_tale), [Pseudonaut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pseudonaut/pseuds/Pseudonaut)




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